When It All Falls Apart
by Mrs O-Town
Summary: AU. It's hard when the people in your life begin to drift away and even harder when it all happens all at once. Nathan, Brooke, Haley, Jake, Lucas and Peyton are going to find that out the hard way. COMPLETE.
1. Acts Like Summer But Walks Like Rain

**Title: **When It All Falls Apart

**Author: **Tejal (Mrs O-Town)

**Rating: **T

**Summary:** It's hard when the people in your life begin to drift away; it's even harder when it all happens all at once. Nathan, Brooke, Haley, Jake, Lucas and Peyton are going to find that one out. AU.

**Author's Notes:** Everyone needs to hurt me for starting another fic but I love where I want to go with this so there! Everyone also needs to thank **Cari** for metaing for me. Title is from _When It All Falls Apart_ by The Veronicas.

**When It All Falls Apart**

**Chapter One: Acts Like Summer and Walks Like Rain**

Brooke and Nathan Scott stood proudly at the steps of their big house as a photographer greedily snapped their pictures. Arms around each other's waists, the fake smiles of the two teenagers never faltered. After all, from the tender ages of nine, they'd been groomed to constantly look their best, to always smile, and to make sure their lives were free of scandals.

How else could their father, the great Dan Scott, secure the mayoral position in their small town?

And now, flanked by their parents, they were celebrating his second term in office with a gratuitous photograph of their perfect family.

Karen and Dan Scott, the high school sweethearts and hard-working individuals who had gradually pulled themselves up to the top with Dan's car dealership and Karen's small but popular café smiled for the camera. Their family was completed seventeen years ago with the arrival of twins, Nathan and Brooke.

Of course, besides inheriting their parents' good-looks, the two of them had also inherited their parents' social standing within THHS. Nathan was hailed to be the next big thing in the basketball world, and Brooke, well she turned more than a few heads as the school's head-cheerleader and most desirable female to roam the school halls.

They were the all-American family… on the outside.

And truth be told, they were more or less the same when the cameras weren't looking.

Nathan and Brooke were the type of siblings who, though they often had their moments, generally got along. Maybe it was because they were twins, or maybe it was because they were used to acting like a happy family. Either way they could stand to be in the same room together and hang around in the same circles at school because they _were_ the circle.

Everybody wanted to been seen with the twins. Everybody wanted to be their friend.

A little way away, Haley James waited patiently for her friends to finish posing for the cameras. Brooke gave her a sly roll of the eyes while the camera was being reloaded and mouthed 'I'm bored' to her. Dan caught the action and nudged his daughter back to attention.

"Mayor Scott, any words on your re-election?" the reporter from the Tree Hill Daily asked, as a Dictaphone was thrust in front of Dan's face. He grinned his famous Cheshire Cat grin and put on the Dan Scott charm.

"Well, all I can say is that the people of Tree Hill made the right choice in giving me another-"

The sound of a wailing baby cut Dan off. He frowned and cast a glance at the man trying his best to comfort the baby.

Jake Jagielski offered Dan a small, apologetic glance as he rocked his daughter back and forth, cooing to her softly and Haley came over to try and help.

"As I was saying," Dan turned his attention back to the reporter, clearly irked by the baby, "Tree Hill did the right thing."

Once they had the all-important sound bites, the reporter and photographer thanked the family before they trundled back to their van and drove off.

The grin on Dan's face faded as quickly as it had appeared and his features darkened as he turned to Jake. "How many times have I asked you _not _to come around here with your bundle of joy? Especially when I'm in the middle of a very important interview with my family? I will not have the fruit of your loins ruining everything and giving me a bad image!" he hissed at the young father.

"Dad," Nathan came between Jake and his father. "That's out of line."

"The only thing out of line is that thing wailing at all hours. Is it really necessary for it to cry all the time?" Dan asked.

Jake narrowed his eyes, ready to retort but Brooke took the bullet for him.

"Well at least he's there for his daughter," she huffed.

Dan looked at her and tightened his jaw.

"Young lady, you're treading on very thin ice," he warned.

Brooke could tell that even Karen wasn't too impressed with her comment.

"Dan, come on, we have some phone interviews to do," Karen successfully coaxed her husband away from the teenagers, though the angry encounter lingered over the group.

"I'm sorry," Brooke apologized to Jake as she wiggled a finger playfully above Jenny's eyes. "He's still a little touchy." She made a funny face as Jenny grabbed the finger and tried to eat it. Brooke managed to wrangle her finger free.

"No, it's my fault. I know better not to be around when your dad is here," Jake sighed. "I just couldn't find a babysitter."

"It's fine, Jake. We like Jenny anyway," Nathan told him tapping the infant's nose to prove his point. Jenny gurgled happily.

"And plus, it's our dad's problem, not yours," Brooke added.

Jake hadn't really been in Dan's good books ever since Jenny had arrived on the scene. Jake and the Scott twins had been friends since childhood. They'd grown up together and were literally inseparable. Of course, Nathan and Jake often ganged up on Brooke since she was a girl, but Brooke had got them back by befriending another brunette when they started high school, Nikki, who was in grade above them.

The foursome spent all their time playing basketball, shopping or hanging out at Karen's Café. Things had been going great even though Nikki, the wildest of the bunch, had often persuaded them all to sneak out so they could sleep under the stars, or investigate the cemetery, or try and get into an over 18s-only club.

Brooke fell for most of it, deeming it as exciting and adventurous. It was Nikki who had given her the fake I.D. and bought Brooke her first beer. Nathan was much more cautious than Brooke, and was constantly trying to dissuade his sister, but Brooke had missed out on having a girl best friend for a big portion of her life and relished being able to gossip and try on make-up and clothes instead of playing basketball and climbing trees with the boys.

When Nikki and Jake began dating, many thought that he would be able to tame the young girl – and for a while, he was successful. Nikki and Jake made a cute couple and Brooke prided herself on getting them together in the first place.

Disaster had struck when Nikki found herself barely seventeen and pregnant. The foursome quickly divided into two groups, boys versus girls and caused friction in the Scott household. However, Brooke was soon reunited with her brother and friend when Nikki ran away five months into her pregnancy.

Try as they might, no-one found her and in the end, the best they could do was try to move on with their lives.

A year later, Jake awoke to find his six-month old daughter on his doorstep, along with a scribbled apologetic note from Nikki and a bag of diapers.

Nathan and Brooke had stepped up to help their friend, feeling partially responsible, in Brooke's case, and always offering a hand. Brooke even had managed to learn how to change diapers.

By then, Haley James had joined their group, nicely filling the void Nikki had left. At least Haley didn't lead any of them astray, and preferred to do her algebra homework on a Friday night rather than go out to clubs.

She also quickly accepted Jenny and was among the first to offer herself for babysitting duties.

One not so impressed individual was Dan, who felt that his son and daughter should not be affiliating themselves with an unwed teenage father.

It was bad for publicity.

But over time, Jake and Jenny had become almost a permanent fixture in the two teenagers' lives, and they were not prepared to turn their backs on them.

"So, are we going down to the beach?" Brooke questioned glancing up at the sun. "It's supposed to be a nice day."

"Sure," Jake agreed. "I think Jenny would like that."

Nathan and Haley murmured in agreement at the thought of spending the rest of the afternoon there.

"Great! Nathan and I will get out of these ridiculous clothes and we'll take my car." Brooke motioned to the conservative, pastel-pink outfit she was wearing, and the smart suit Nathan had been forced into on a sunny April afternoon.

Jake, Jenny and Haley decided to remain outside while the twins changed, since Dan was most probably still bitter at Jenny's disruption of his interview.

Sitting on the porch deck, Haley sighed and twirled a strand of her hair around her index finger. Jake glanced at the girl.

"Nathan still not noticing you?" he asked. Haley looked at Jake in wide-eyed disbelief.

"What?"

"Your crush on Nathan," Jake said with a grin. Haley hushed at him to keep his voice down. "Everybody knows about it."

"But I only told Brooke!" Haley insisted. Jake gave her a look and she nodded slowly. "So the whole world knows?" she asked.

"No, Brooke just told me – but only because she wanted to know if Nathan reciprocated."

"Does he?" Haley looked hopeful.

Jake shrugged, "I don't know. But you know Nathan, he's a closed book half of the time. It took months for anyone to know he was crushing on that English teacher of his back in ninth grade," Jake chuckled. "Although it explains why he was getting 'A's all the time."

"Just keep it quiet, okay?" Haley pleaded, "Because the last thing I want is for Nathan to find out and our friendship to be weird."

"My lips are sealed," Jake promised. "But just so you know – I think you'd make a great couple."

He grinned when Haley blushed.

------

Peyton angrily drew the curtains across her window as she watched the goings on across the street. She groaned in disgust as Nathan and Brooke grinned for the cameras.

Stupid posers.

She flopped down on her bed and hit a button on her remote control, flicking her stereo on and blasting out some loud emo music through the speakers while she began to draw.

Lucas popped his head into her room.

"Dear Mom," he said in a high, mocking voice. "Today, I got angry at some people. And then I played my music so loud, the neighbors called the police to complain. My life is so hard. Wah, wah, wah!" He added a pout for good measure.

Peyton rolled her eyes and turned down the music.

"What do you want?" she demanded of her twin brother.

While Lucas and Peyton Sawyer shared the same tastes in music, the same blonde hair and the same parents; the similarities ended there.

Peyton found Lucas too carefree and laidback, while her brother found her too moody and whiny.

Ever since their mother had died four years ago, and their father decided to spend more time working on the oil rigs, it had been the two of them living on their own and their differences really began to show.

"What's the matter now?" Lucas asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"The Scott twins," Peyton scowled. "Posing for the cameras as if everyone cares about them."

"Everyone does care about them. They're the mayor's kids. It's the closest thing to celebrity here in good old Tree Hill."

"_I _don't care about them." Peyton muttered.

Lucas rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't. Hence the reason you have 'Mrs. Nathan Scott' written all over your notebooks along with those freaky pictures you draw."

"I do not," she retorted. "Plus, it's not _him _that I have a problem with."

"Ah yes, the young Miss Brooke Scott. What's your deal with her again?" Lucas feigned ignorance.

"My problem is that she gets whatever she wants, whenever she wants it - even if she doesn't deserve it and she looks down on everybody else, even if she's no better than them."

"We're on this cheerleading thing again, right?"

"I hate being told what to do by Brooke Scott – and she's only the head cheerleader because of her stupid parents."

"You do remember that you have to be on the cheerleading squad to fulfill your after-school sports unit, right? Especially after the volleyball incident," Lucas reminded her.

"Who cares about stupid volleyball? Brooke's mean to me and makes me stand at the back!" Peyton complained.

"That's because she looks better in those skirts than you do," Lucas chuckled, his comment being greeted by Peyton hitting him with a pillow.

"Why do you think everything is a joke? Dan Scott cut the football team funding and now you have to play basketball. Are you not upset about that?"

"Not really, I like basketball," Lucas shrugged.

"How can you be so… so… blah about everything?"

"Well it beats drawing depressing art, holding grudges and whining about everything going wrong in your life. Ever since Mom died, I figured that life's too short to waste it," Lucas explained. "Why do _you_ have to take everything so personally? You're not the only one with problems, you know."

"Because life's too short _not _to care about stuff," Peyton grumbled. "And life is too damn short for girls like Brooke Scott to go around looking down on people when everything is handed to her on a plate, and while the _real_ people who deserve any type of praise whatsoever are stuck waiting for her to take the friggin' silver spoon out of her mouth!"

"Okay, pop a Midol or something," Lucas shook his head. "Did it ever occur to you that it's not her with the problem – it's you?"

"So it's my fault that she's a spoiled brat?" Peyton narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you take her side all the time? I'm your sister! Your loyalty should be with me."

"Well stop acting like a jealous bitch and get over it. Maybe then I will side with you," Lucas told her. "Plus, you never really make an effort to get to know her. You're always scowling or making snide comments. It's not endearing you to her or anybody in close proximity to her. Everybody loves Brooke Scott."

"Including you, right?" she sneered. Lucas froze before shaking his head. "Oh, come on, Lucas. You don't think I've noticed you looking at her in class? I know you have her yearbook picture underneath your pillow and I don't even want to begin to know what you use that for!" She made a face and held out her hands. "Truth is, big brother, she doesn't care about you. And even if she did, it's not like you'll get past Mayor Dan's chastity belt. He wants his family to be free of scandals," she trilled almost happily. "And don't forget you're on the same basketball team as her _brother_."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Lucas replied, "I'm not into Brooke."

"Yeah, sure, and I'm just Little Miss Sunshine around these parts," Peyton sighed as Lucas finally left her room. "Next time shut the door when you make happy with yourself!" she yelled after him.

--------

"So how's the new cheerleading routine coming?" Haley asked Brooke as they played with Jenny in the sand. Nathan and Jake were busy with an intense game of Frisbee a little distance away. Jenny gurgled now and again at the sight of both boys running after the luminous object.

"Good. I think most people have got it… with the clear exception of Peyton," Brooke grumbled.

"Is she still not listening to you?" her friend sympathized.

"I tell her left and she'll go to the right! That peroxide is seeping into her brain somehow. She has the co-ordination of a squirrel!"

Haley made a face as she envisioned a comparison between Peyton cheerleading and an uncoordinated squirrel. "Why don't you just kick her off the squad?"

"Because the volleyball team begged me to take her. It had something to do with transcripts and activities. All I know is that no matter what I do or how nice I am, Peyton Sawyer just hates me," Brooke pouted.

Haley patted her arm comfortingly. "Sorry, Brooke," she sympathized. "I wish there was something I could do."

Brooke's frown transformed into a grin as she hit upon an idea. Unfortunately for Haley, she knew exactly what this idea was.

"Brooke, no, I'm not joining the squad."

"Bu-"

"If you think Peyton sucks, I'm a whole new realm of suck. I wasn't born to cheer," she told her friend firmly.

"So? It's easy. You just learn a routine; add a few pom-poms, a couple of jumps and cartwheels-"

"…fall flat on my face…"

"Wear pretty little outfits. Get all the boys staring at you..."

"It's not my thing."

"Nathan thinks cheerleaders are pretty cute," Brooke pursed her lips as she glanced at Haley from the corner of her eye. The tutor blushed as she bit her lip as if in contemplation. "I'm sure he'd love it if you were there to cheer him on every game."

"Brooke…" Haley began.

"Haley…"

"I'm sorry," her friend apologized.

Brooke sighed and turned to Jenny. "I guess you're my last hope," she said to the infant. "What do you think? Could you learn a few cartwheels and forward rolls by next week?"

"I don't think Jake would appreciate his little angel turning into a cheer slut," Haley said before Brooke pinched her arm. "Ow! I didn't mean _you_."

"Whatever. Maybe we can make an outfit for Jenny anyway." Brooke suggested as she took both of Jenny's arms and began doing a cheer routine with them.

"Aw, we could get her little pom-poms too," Haley added. "She'd look so cute."

"What are you two conspiring to do with my daughter?" Jake asked as he jogged up to the girls.

"Brooke was just telling us her plans for Jenny to dominate Tree Hill's cheer squad. She'll be knocking them off their feet in no time."

Jake chuckled, "No way. No daughter of mine is going to be objectified and hollered at by horny teenage boys every day."

"Oh, like you do every game?" Brooke reminded him.

"Hey," Jake protested. "I'll have you know that I holler with respect." He scooped up his daughter from Brooke's hands and lifted her up over his head.

"What were you guys talking about?" Nathan questioned as he too approached them after fishing the Frisbee out of the sea.

"Oh nothing. Just cheerleading… and your girlfriend…" Brooke grinned cheekily at Nathan.

"Well I'm hoping you mean Jenny and not who I think you mean." Nathan took a gulp of his drink and apologized when Jake shot him a look. "Sorry, man, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, I do, but next time, please leave my innocent infant daughter out of any hypothetical romantic links with you," Jake frowned.

"Anyway…" Nathan turned the attention back to the issue at hand, "Peyton is not my girlfriend."

"But she'd like to be. She's four steps away from spying on you with night vision goggles and rooting through our trash cans. It's like crazy stalkage crushing." Brooke told the group. "Maybe that's why she won't quit the cheerleading squad. She wants to be near Nathan," she sing-songed her brother's name and looked pointedly at Haley, who nudged her friend to shut up.

"Whatever. I'm not interested in Peyton Sawyer," Nathan sighed, "I just wish she'd get the message."

"Yeah well I don't want to be the one to break it to her." Brooke rolled her eyes emphatically, "Because she already hates me and I don't want her to have another reason to stick another pin in her voodoo doll of me."

"Maybe you should be nice to Peyton," Haley suggested.

"I'm an angel to Peyton."

"You threw something at her."

"Well how hard is it to get a cartwheel right?" Brooke defended the actions of last week, "And anyway, it didn't hit her."

"Pity." Nathan, Jake and Haley said in unison.

**To Be Continued…**


	2. Move Along, Move Along

_Sorry for the delay. I had essay deadlines to meet. Hope you like this chapter. _

**Chapter Two: Move Along, Move Along**

Peyton grimaced as she attempted to keep up with the rest of the group. While the others were perfectly regurgitating the moves Brooke demonstrated to them earlier, Peyton was at least two beats behind and was dangerously close to injuring herself or someone else.

"Peyton!" Brooke yelled at the girl, trying her best to keep her cool in front of everyone. Inside she was screaming at the lack of co-ordination. She contemplated on bitching her out and threatening Peyton's position on the team but instead she sighed and only offered a half-hearted encouragement, "Keep up!"

The blonde shot Brooke a glare as she continued messing up the moves. Brooke looked up at the stands where Jake and Haley sat observing. Shooting them both a desperate look, Brooke turned off the music causing all nine other cheerleaders to stop abruptly.

"Okay, so this clearly isn't working." Brooke spoke, her voice echoing off the walls of the gym. "Who's having a problem with the routine?"

Everybody looked at Peyton.

"Peyton?" Brooke urged, "Is there anything you're finding difficult?" Her tone, though slightly annoyed, was an attempt to be encouraging and nice to the blonde. "Maybe you want to go over a few things?"

Peyton crossed her arms defiantly, "No I think I've got it."

Brooke seethed inwardly, "Are you _sure_?"

"Yup."

The brunette forced a smile on her face as she started the music up again, "Fine. Let's take it from the top." The routine started up again, and for almost thirty whole seconds, it seemed like Peyton had been telling the truth. Before Brooke could rejoice, the blonde missed out a spin and the whole thing began to unravel again. Just as Brooke was about to say something, Peyton bumped into Bevin and tripped her up, sending another two cheerleaders hurtling towards the floor. Brooke winced as they made a thud on the gym floor and everyone stopped.

"Peyton!" Brooke shouted at the blonde as she rushed to the aid of the injured parties.

"Sorry," Peyton mumbled an apology and tried to ignore the looks everyone was giving her.

"You should just be glad that no-one was here to see it. How is it that you're halfway decent on game night but a complete and utter mess the rest of the time?" Brooke wondered aloud.

"Oh my god! Brooke, Theresa's knee is turning purple!" Bevin cried pointing to Theresa's left leg. The girls expressed their reactions with various 'ew's and 'ohmigod's.

"Crap! Bevin, can you take Theresa to the school nurse?" Brooke asked and Bevin obliged, a few other girls helping to support their fallen comrade. Brooke turned to the rest of the girls, "Alright, I guess practice is cancelled for today. Guys, I'm really sorry about it. Hopefully Theresa will be okay by tomorrow."

"What if she isn't?" one of the cheerleaders asked.

"We'll just get a replacement." Brooke suggested. "But let's stay positive. She may have only bruised it or something. The next game isn't until next week." She waved her hands to dismiss the other cheerleaders who gradually dispersed. Peyton was among the first to get her butt out of there.

_Thank god_, Brooke thought to herself.

"I hate cheerleading." Brooke sighed dramatically as she joined Haley and Jake in the stands. Her two friends exchanged a look.

"No, you don't. You love cheerleading." Haley reminded her.

"Okay, that's true," Brooke admitted, "But I hate it when _certain_ people mess everything up and make my job harder than it already is. We couldn't even get through ten minutes without something going wrong."

"Wow, that's the shortest cheerleading practice I've ever seen," Jake commented looking at his watch.

"Yeah, well blame Miss Not-so-cheery cheerleader." Brooke bit back. "So what's the plan? Shall we go down to the beach again?"

"Oh but it's basketball practice next!" Haley cried.

"But you don't even like—oh!" Brooke clocked on to what her friend was waiting for. "You're waiting to ogle my brother in his uniform," she winked playfully. Haley shhhed her friend.

"No… I just like the game."

Jake and Brooke raised their eyebrows, "Hey, Haley. Tell me what a three pointer is." He asked.

Haley frowned, "A triangle?" Her friends cackled. "Okay, so I don't know the rules. I'm here to learn."

"Yeah, and I bet I know what you'll be studying." Brooke grinned before frowning as well, "Ew, okay, I just thought of you and my brother and it's giving me the creeps." She shuddered.

"Whatever! There's a couple of new players anyway because your father lovingly cut the football team." Haley explained. Brooke made a face.

"Yes, how I remember that fiasco. Boy, some people were pissed."

"Why would they be pissed? Our football team sucks!" Jake declared. "And I should know; I used to be on it."

"Because everyone knows my dad needs basketball like Nicole Richie needs to gain weight. Without the football team, more money would be spent on 'making our Ravens fly to the top'" Brooke quoted her father's famous line, complete with a big cheesy grin at the end.

"Do you know who's joined the team?" Haley asked.

"Um, just a couple of them. Some guy who's in our biology class and Lucas Sawyer." Brooke replied.

"That should be interesting." The young father commented. "The Scott twins and the Sawyer twins on one court? Talk about tension."

"I have no problem with them… except maybe Peyton. But other than that, there's nothing. I don't really talk to Lucas and neither does Nathan. Although it's a good thing because my brother likes to stay way away from Stalky Boots." Brooke added with a roll of her eyes.

"At least Lucas seems pretty normal. I wonder if he's any good at basketball."

"Have you seen him play down at the Rivercourt?" Jake made an impressed sound, "It's a mystery why he even joined the football team."

"It's also a mystery why _you_ aren't on the basketball team this year." Brooke mentioned to her friend who dipped his head.

"Come on, Brooke, you know I have Jenny now. I can't spend anymore time away from her."

"What is two hours after school on Tuesdays and Fridays?" she shot back.

"And then three hours for games on Saturdays, not to mention away games, extra practice…"

"Jake, you're a great basketball player."

"I have other priorities in my life now. I couldn't do that to Jenny, and it's unfair on my parents to have to babysit. I can't afford babysitters."

"Well it's a good thing you have me and Haley then," Brooke grinned. "You know we'd bend backwards for that kid of yours. We are Jenny's godmothers."

Jake looked perplexed, "You are?" he questioned before Haley nudged him and gave him a warning look, "Oh, you _are_. But you're cheering at every game and you have practice at the same time."

"Haley doesn't." she pointed a finger at her best friend.

"Are you forgetting Haley's our roadie." Jake said before being hit by Haley.

"I am not a roadie." She shot back.

"Yes you are. You help me with my cheerleading stuff, help Mouth with the basketball stuff, and pine after my brother."

"I do not—" Haley's protests were cut short by the sound of the gym doors swinging open and ten uniformed basketball players jogging on court. They made it about halfway across the gym when they all suddenly stopped and stared at the three.

"Where's the cheerleaders?" Tim asked in disappointment.

"I cancelled practice. Peyton broke one of my cheerleaders," Brooke explained with a shrug. There were a few groans.

"Hey, I'm still here. Am I not cheery enough for you guys?" she feigned hurt and clutched her chest. Although Tim looked interested enough, Nathan shook his head.

"It might work for these lunkheads but you're my sister, I can't stare at you. It's… wrong." He made a face and Brooke grinned.

"That's okay. You can stare at Haley instead," her eyes traveled to her best friend who blushed a dozen different shade of red and pinched her friend's arm.

"Fine." Nathan smirked as he gave Haley a wink and turned away to get practice started.

"I hate you for that!" Haley hissed as the boys began to do their stretches before running laps.

"Why? What's the problem?" Brooke didn't seem to know what she had done.

"The problem? The problem is that now everyone knows I like Nathan!" her fingers grabbed hold of Brooke's white top and pulled it towards her.

The brunette forcibly removed Haley's grip from her top and pulled away, "Okay, firstly, because you're my best friend I'm going to forget that you almost ruined my new top; and secondly, he knows nothing. Trust me, Nathan is completely clueless about everything. You could dance around naked waving a 'I love Nathan' flag and he wouldn't notice."

"Gee, Brooke, thanks."

"Come on, Grouchy Girl, let's just bury the hatchet and watch the cute boys run, okay?" Brooke wrapped an arm around Haley and pulled her closer into a hug as if to apologize. Jake frowned.

"This is getting way too girly." He commented. The two girls looked up at him and then at each other, breaking out into huge grins.

"Jake sandwich!" they cried as they pulled him down to their level and squished up against him. Though he protested initially, he gradually relaxed in the company of his two female friends.

"See? This is why I shouldn't join the team again. I'll miss my Brooke and Haley time." He gave them both goofy grins.

"You are such a sissy sometimes," Brooke sighed dramatically, "Who would protect us if we were attacked in some dark alley one night?"

"Whenever have we been in a dark alley at night?"

"Hypothetically."

"Alright, well then, _hypothetically_ I'll use my _hypothetical_ ninja skills to beat the _hypothetical_ attackers who are _hypothetically_ attacking us in this _hypothetical_ situation."

"Well now you're just being childish."

"Are you three girls just going to sit there and gossip all day or are you actually going to support your team?" Whitey's irritation at the three broke up their conversation.

"He called me a girl," Jake protested.

"Shut up Jake and just clap and cheer." Brooke instructed as she stood up and tossed Haley and Jake her pom-poms. "Go Ravens!" she cheered as she watched them do their warm-ups.

"Do we have to do this all practice?" Haley questioned under her breath to her friends who plastered on a big smile and continued clapping and cheering to please the old coach.

"Sawyer!" Whitey's anger at the three spectators shifted onto the latecomer. "You're late."

"Sorry, Coach," Lucas apologized as he jogged up to the man on the sidelines. "Where do you want me?"

"Well first of all, on time." Whitey snitted as he surveyed the team running drills. "Go do ten laps around the court and then I want you in at center."

Lucas blinked at his new coach, "Center? This is my first day."

"You don't think I've seen you play down at the Rivercourt? I know what you can do. I want you in the center." Lucas eyed Nathan hesitantly. It seemed none of the other players had heard.

"Coach, I don't think Na—"

"Don't worry about Nathan, Lucas," Whitey advised. "I'll deal with him. Besides, you're all working on a team; you've got to learn sometime."

"Fine," Lucas nodded and crossed his arms. Whitey stared at the new player. "What?" Lucas asked.

"I thought I asked you run!" Lucas quickly got the message and began running the laps, making a special effort to look his best when running past Brooke.

Except she didn't really seem to notice him. Instead, she was much more invested in talking to her best friends about the state of her cheerleading squad.

"And it's not like she doesn't know the routine, it's just that she doesn't seem to _try_. Unless she really is that useless." She sighed.

"Maybe you should try being—"

"Nice?" Brooke cut in, "I've tried that a million times and you've suggested it a million times. I just don't know what to do without cutting her out of the team altogether."

"Well maybe if you're a little stricter, she might just get the message." Lucas interrupted as he slowed to a stop at the mention of his twin sister.

"Oh I'm so sorry. We shouldn't be bitching about your sister like this." Brooke apologized.

"No, it's nothing. I already know she's a whiny, moody bitch. I live with it." He chuckled, "But I do know she knows the routine. And I've seen her try. She's not half bad but she needs a little more guidance and maybe a bit more rhythm."

"And she'll be perfect?" Brooke guessed.

"Well there's that whole thing about her hating your guts but once she's passed all that, I'm sure the cheer squad will be on top form." Lucas grinned. Brooke smiled back.

"Okay, well, since you shared like a womb and all, you couldn't shed any light on _why_ she hates me that much?" she questioned. Lucas winced.

"That I can't do." He said apologetically, "but I might be able to do something about her attitude."

"Really?" Brooke seemed to perk up though it quickly faded as she eyed him suspiciously. "Why would you do that?"

Lucas shrugged, "Maybe because if I could help you with my sister, you could help me with your brother?"

Brooke frowned, "My brother? What about him?" She looked over at Nathan who was busy on the court.

"Well… Whitey wants to make me the new center." Her eyes widened, along with Haley and Jake's. "So you see the dilemma."

"Nathan respects Whitey and I'm sure he'd be okay with it as long as you're better than him. My dad on the other hand…" she made a face. "But I'm sure you'll be fine."

"Do we have a deal?" Lucas asked. She seemed to think about it before nodding and extending her hand out. He took it and grinned.

"Sawyer! Get in here!" Whitey instructed. Lucas ran onto the court, sending a fleeting look towards Brooke and her friends. "You're the new center."

"But Coach…" Nathan began in protest.

"He's playing center today, Nathan. If it doesn't work out we'll change it. You're the captain - be an example." Whitey grunted at the young man. "The ball?" Nathan threw the ball into Lucas' hands and reluctantly moved into the new position Whitey had put him in.

Everybody could see Nathan wasn't too happy about the situation.

But rather than focusing his glares on the new player; he was focusing them towards his sister.

**To Be Continued…**


	3. Burning At These Mysteries

_Woohoo! I'm updating! dances I'm so darn proud of myself. Mostly because this chapter is one of my favorites and is quite long so I really hope you enjoy. Especially you Naley fans ;)_

**Chapter Three: Burning At These Mysteries**

"Everybody hit the showers!" Whitey instructed as he blew the whistle indicating the end of practice. It didn't take long for most of the players to leave the gym floor and head towards the dressing rooms. Lucas, on the other hand, hung behind and used the opportunity to accost one of the spectators still in the stands.

"So, how did I do?" Lucas asked Brooke as she turned from her conversation Jake and Haley.

"Not bad for a football player," she smirked, "But I think there's still room for improvement."

"Oh really," Lucas crosses his arms over his chest, "And what makes you the expert?"

"You are forgetting both my brother and my father are obsessed with this game. And that I've been forced to watch the NBA since I was born. It's a good thing my mom was there to put pom-poms in my hand instead of a basketball, or then I'd be showering with the team!" Both Lucas and Jake raised their eyebrows at the visual while Haley gaped at Brooke. "What? It's true."

"Well at least you're cheering us on the sidelines. By the way, when do I get my own personalized cheer?" he questioned.

"Oh, about the time you prove you're worth it or when your sister manages to keep in time for a whole cheer." She sighed.

"I won't hold my breath then," Lucas chuckled.

"Sawyer! Are you going to go into the showers or am I going to have to give you a bath myself?" Whitey yelled, irritation evident in his voice at the young man who seemed more interested in cozying up to Brooke Davis than in his hygiene.

"Coming, coach!" Lucas replied before turning back to Brooke, "I guess I'll catch you later."

As Lucas jogged from Brooke and her friends to the dressing rooms, Whitey walked up to him. "I know you've got talent, son, but considering you've just taken Nathan's position, I wouldn't go taking his sister away from him either. Nathan's not exactly one to want to share." He advised.

"I wasn't trying to-"

"Yes, you were. Besides, Mayor Scott wouldn't be too impressed either. He wants to keep his angel incorruptible for as long as he's in office. And I know you're a good guy, but just don't go thinking Nathan and his father will make it easy for you." Whitey continued, making clear that Brooke was one of the ones he'd have to stay away from if he was ever going to survive being on the same team as Nathan Scott.

When the whole team had showered and changed into fresh clothing, Lucas made his way back out into the gym to see if Brooke was still there. Undeterred from Whitey's warnings, he was sure that the girl was able to make her own decisions and that Nathan nor her father had that much of a hold on her.

Fortunately for him, she was still sitting in the same spot – though without Jake and Haley. She spotted him coming over and offered him a smile.

"Back again?" she asked, "I just can't keep you away."

"Not me," he grinned. "All alone?"

She nodded. "Yeah, well Jake had to get back to little Jenny. Besides, Haley had to get home anyway. I'm just waiting for Nathan."

"Listen, I was thinking that maybe you and I should get together and-"

"And?" Nathan's voice both interrupted Lucas and urged him to continue. Although the unimpressed expression on his face told Lucas that Nathan would rather the blonde leave his sister alone.

"…and talk about your Peyton situation." Lucas finished somewhat less confidently from when he begun the sentence.

"Uh, sure," Brooke agreed with a nod.

"So are we going or what?" Nathan cut in grumpily, aiming a glare at his sister. She sighed and nodded.

"I'll speak to you soon, Lucas. My _rude _brother here is getting antsy. He's getting Playstation withdrawals or something." She rolled her eyes for effect as she gathered her things.

"No problem. I'll see you soon." Lucas said with a wave as he watched Brooke step down off the bleachers and walk towards her brother, who immediately put an arm around her as a barrier against Lucas. "Bye, Nathan!" the young man offered in an attempt to make nice. Nathan didn't even look at him as he led his sister out of the gym.

"Could you have been more rude?" Brooke hissed as they reached the parking lot. "I know he took your position and everything but it's no reason to hold it against him."

"It's not because of that!" Nathan insisted.

"Really? Well I see no other reason for you to act so cold towards him. God, it's not like he's after your life or anything." Brooke grumbled as she got into the driver's seat.

"What are you doing? I'm driving."

"This is my car." She reminded him, "And I'm offering you a ride out of the goodness of my heart and because of some stupid twin bond. I'm not the one who backed your car into the wall."

"Yeah, well, you were the one too busy looking at your nails to tell me I was too close to the house." Nathan shot back.

"Just sit in the car so we can go home, Jealousy-Boy."

"I am _not_ jealous!" Nathan retorted. She just gave him a knowing look and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever."

--------

"Haley, please!" Brooke whined as she went down on her knees and held her hands together in a begging position. "Please!"

"No!" Haley seemed firm in her decision as she perched on the end of her bed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'll wash your car!"

"I don't even have a car." Haley frowned.

"I'll _buy _you a car!" Brooke offered, "Just say 'yes'."

"No!"

"Why_ not_?" her friend asked, "It's great. You get to be cute and girly and have everyone look at you."

"And watch me make an idiot of myself?"

"That won't happen. As long as Peyton's on the team, they won't even notice you making an idiot of yourself!" Brooke said, hoping it would change her best friend's mind, but it did little to reassure her.

"Sorry, Brooke, it's still a big, fat, stinking, no!"

"If you love me, you'll do it." Brooke changed tactics. "Otherwise I'll never speak to you again." She huffed.

"You'll last two hours." Haley predicted with a wry smile.

"So you'll do it?"

"No."

"Urgh! I so hate you right now. Whenever you need something, I'm right there. Why should this be any different?"

"Because this is completely and utterly on my 'No Freakin' Way, Not Even If You Beg' list."

"Liar. You don't have a list like that." Brooke proceeded to pout, before an idea popped into her head. "Fine, be that way. I'll just go tell Nathan that you lurve him." She grinned wickedly as she moved towards the door. Haley's eyes grew wide and she made a fish-like motion as her mouth opened and closed several times in an attempt to stop her friend.

"Ravens!" Haley managed to squeak out. Brooke frowned and stopped by the doorway at the strange and bewildering reply she garnered.

"Huh?" she asked. Haley sighed and closed the door.

"I'll be your stupid replacement." Haley told her, "Just don't tell Nathan anything."

"You'll do it?" Brooke grinned happily as Haley nodded in defeat. "Oh, I love you so much!" she hugged her best friend who rolled her eyes.

"I don't like you too much, Brooke. Or should I call you 'Blackmailer' instead?"

"Call me whatever you want, you're still cheering at the game this Friday night if Theresa doesn't show." Brooke sat on her bed and opened up a magazine.

"And I'm thankful Theresa only has a sprained ankle and not a broken leg. There's no way I'm filling in for her for six weeks." Haley groaned at the thought.

"Too bad, I'm sure you'll make a great cheerleader. You're the only one that knows every routine and has been to every practice this year. Plus, I'm sure Nathan will love seeing you in the uniform." She winked as Haley blushed.

"Yeah, well, let's just hope I don't fall down while holding you up on the pyramid."

"Didn't anybody tell you?" Brooke asked Haley, "You're going to be at the top!" Off the horrified look on Haley's face, she burst into laughter. "Only kidding, Hales."

"I hate you."

-------

Tree Hill's first away game of the season was against Oak Lake; a town almost thirty miles away from home. Nathan and Brooke had traveled together in Brooke's car, with Haley, their unwilling passenger who was surrounded by cheerleading equipment and stuck with listening to Brooke and Nathan argue. Jake had not been able to join them due to not being able to find a suitable babysitter on such short notice, and his other two options being on the cheerleading team. But he had promised to listen to the webcast along with Jenny – though was not too impressed with Brooke's suggestion of making Jenny wear the cheerleading outfit she'd specially ordered.

Adding to Nathan's irritation, Whitey had insisted upon Lucas remaining in Nathan's spot, though he sought solace in the fact that he was still the captain. It didn't stop him from complaining about it though.

Thankfully, Haley's fears of making an idiot of herself were thwarted when Theresa showed up; healthy enough to cheer. Haley had made a mental note to reward the girl with a fruit basket or something – although made out that she was disappointed in front of Brooke.

Truthfully, Haley was more than content to sit in the stands along with other Tree Hill supporters; though she wished she had brought a change of clothes because she felt more than a little self conscious being in the slightly breezy cheerleading outfit. Needless to say, it wasn't generally the clothing Haley was self-confident enough to wear publicly.

"Nathan, pass me the ball!" Lucas yelled across the court as she waved his hands about, signaling that he was free. Nathan barely glanced at him as he dribbled the basket here and there before passing it to another player on their team – even though he was marked. Fortunately, it seemed to have paid off seeing as he then made a basket; making the score 54 to 57 with Tree Hill in the lead.

Lucas tried to forget about Nathan's sleight but it was difficult not to with Nathan making damn sure Lucas hardly had a chance to get the ball, despite being the center.

"Go Lucas!" Brooke led her team in a special cheer for Lucas, having seen Nathan's behavior on the court.

"Scott!" Whitey warned, "Sawyer is free."

Nathan ignored Whitey's advice and attempted to make a basket. It rebounded and fell into the hands of the opposing team… who quickly took the advantage and scored another basket.

"Scott!" Whitey warned again. "You're not the only one on the team!"

Nathan decided that it was in his best interest to let Lucas have the ball and so called out his name, the blonde more than ready to accept the ball. However, Nathan's own ego got the better of him and he threw the ball directly into the hands of the opposing team. He only shrugged when Lucas gave him a questioning look, and went off in the opposite direction.

Lucas, pissed off at Nathan's behavior and unwilling to accept it, made no favors to himself by chasing after Nathan.

"What the hell was that?" he demanded.

"Not my fault you couldn't catch the ball," Nathan grumbled. Lucas sighed.

"Look, I don't know what this is about but the least you could do is set an example and act like the captain."

"Don't tell me what to do, Luke-Ass!" Nathan threatened. "You know damn well what this is about."

"Really? Are you just jealous that Whitey made me-"

"This has nothing to do with Whitey's decisions." Nathan growled, shoving Lucas. Lucas, to his credit, didn't retaliate just yet.

"Is it about Brooke? You don't want me around her."

"Of course I don't want you around her! Especially after what you did." Nathan shoved Lucas again more forcefully. This time, Lucas pushed him back.

"Don't push me!" Nathan pushed Lucas down to the ground, and in return, Lucas pulled him down to the floor.

The two scuffled on the ground amidst the cries of Whitey, the whistles of the referee and the gasps of the crowd. Even the players of Tree Hill and Oak Lake couldn't do anything to pull the fighting pair apart.

Finally, Whitey managed to pull the two players off each other and held them both by their shirts.

"Alright, boys, that's it. I've had to deal with your less than gamely behavior all night and I am goddamn sick of it. Both of you are off." He told them, disappointment and frustration both in his voice.

"But coach…" Nathan began to protest.

"Especially, you Scott. You're the one who's been sulking all night and acting like some sort of petulant child. If your father was here, he'd have kicked your ass all the way home. Now, get to the bench. And you'd better be at least three players away from each other because so help me, if I even so much as see a dirty glance exchanged between you, I'm making you _walk_ home." He let go of the boys and escorted them to the bench, where Lucas sat on one end. Nathan sat down on the other end but as the referee whistle was blown to resume the game, he got up and left the gym.

Players, spectators and cheerleaders watched him in disbelief as the captain abandoned his team, but it was Haley who jumped up out of her seat and followed him.

"Nathan, wait!" she called as she followed him to the dressing room where he pulled on his jacket and grabbed his clothes and bag. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Go back to the game, Haley." He replied as he walked through the school and towards the exit and the car park.

"You're just going to leave?"

"No point in sticking around."

"But we've still got half an hour left on the clock. It's barely anything and Whitey will-"

"I don't care what Whitey thinks. He totally humiliated me in there."

"Oh, you mean after you totally humiliated yourself by starting a fight with Lucas?"

"I thought you followed me because you were concerned, not to give me another lecture." Nathan grunted as he put his stuff in Brooke's car. Haley sighed.

"Okay, I'm sorry. I won't lecture you. But I can't let you drive off in Brooke's car by yourself." She told him.

"Well, either you're with me or against me. You can run inside and tell Whitey or Brooke but by then I'll be gone." He told her as he started the engine. Haley sighed and got into the car beside him. "What are you doing?" he asked, a little stunned at her actions.

"Like you said, I'm either with you or against you. At least this way I can hope to be enough of a responsibility that you don't do anything completely stupid. And maybe it'll give you a chance to explain your childish actions so at least you have someone sticking up for you tomorrow when you're blamed for Tree Hill's first loss of the season."

"We could still win it," Nathan muttered.

"Not without you." Haley shrugged. Nathan gave her a slight smile before driving off and out of the car park.

It was five minutes before Haley spoke up again.

"So, you want to talk about it?" she asked.

"Not really." Nathan shook his head.

"How is Brooke going to get home?"

"She'll probably grab the bus and I'll pick her up from the school. Maybe I can convince her to side with me before we get home. No doubt my dad would have heard by then." He sighed.

"You realize that whatever is going on between you and Lucas just might have ruined your reputation, right? I mean, Whitey looked so pissed at you. What is he going to do? And, more importantly, what is your Dad going to do to you?"

"I don't care right now. I just don't trust or like Lucas."

"Why? Because he stole your spot?"

"Not that. He just… I just don't like him." Nathan replied, his sentence on the verge of wanting to explain his reasons. But those who knew Nathan also knew that he only said what he wanted to say, and unlike his sister, he knew how to keep his mouth shut. Unfortunately for him, one look from Haley was enough for him to open it again. "I know something that he did. I just haven't said anything because it'd hurt Brooke and Jake."

"Well if it won't hurt me then you can tell me, right? A problem shared is a problem halved." Haley reminded him.

"That's the thing. I mean it's hardly even relevant now but it'd bring up some pretty ugly feelings and I can't hurt my sister or my best friend. And I wouldn't want you to be disappointed in me for keeping it to myself for so long – or for bringing it up and hurting everyone."

Haley rested a hand on his shoulder, "Nathan, whatever it is, I promise I won't be disappointed in you." She promised. Nathan sighed, her offer tempting him.

"You can't tell Jake or Brooke." Haley made a gesture of zipping her mouth closed, locking it and throwing away the key. Nathan couldn't help but be somewhat amused by the childish motion. "Well, it was about six months ago when I saw Her."

"Her?" Haley looked perplexed for a few moments before realization dawned on her. "Oh."

"I know. I mean, if it had been like a year ago or something, I would have welcomed the sight of her – but it was after the whole pregnancy thing and none of us were concerned for her – we were just pissed at her for doing what she did to Jake and Jenny. She was in this bar I went to to meet Michelle. You remember her, right?"

"Your girlfriend of three weeks who had legs forty inches long and stunning hair? Yes, vividly." Haley muttered jealously, though Nathan didn't pick up on the tone.

"Yeah, so I saw Nikki at the bar talking to some guy and I just wanted to go over there and rip her arms off or something to punish her for abandoning her baby and for running away twice."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because she was there with Lucas of all people. I don't know if he knew the whole situation or not because this was a week before everyone found out about Jenny. But he knew that she'd run away. Perhaps not pregnant but still! So they're at the bar and I'm watching them and praying that Lucas has enough sense to leave her or brush her off or to do _something _other than leave with her. But instead, the idiot sleeps with her."

"Oh my god!" Haley exclaimed, "How do you know?"

"Because I followed them."

"Oh and ew, that's creepy." She made a face.

"Which resulted in me getting pissed at both of them, especially because it caused Michelle to dump me. Apparently watching other people have sex isn't something she liked to do on a date." Nathan sighed. "Besides, when everyone at school found out that Jenny existed and what Nikki had done, I knew Lucas also knew what he'd done. But he never admitted it or told anyone that he'd even seen her."

"But Lucas wasn't the only one to have seen her that night. You could have said something," Haley pointed out.

"Would you think I was horrible for thinking we'd all be better off without Nikki and knowing she had been there. We all thought that she had ditched town and was miles away but she had been around. I was so angry at her; leaving Jake, leaving Jenny and now getting drunk and whoring herself around. Even if I said something to you guys before, it doesn't change the fact she's unfit to be a mother, and plus Jenny would be more than cared for by us. I thought I was doing something for the common good and so did Nikki."

"What do you mean by that?"

Nathan groaned, "Okay, this might be the part you're disappointed with. I spoke to her after Lucas left. I saw her alone and I went over. I told her everything that was on my mind; about how she'd hurt all of us for doing what she did. And then I told her to get out of town for good, because after what she'd done, she wouldn't be welcome… and she did. She just left. She didn't even ask about Jenny or Jake or Brooke. She just left like she didn't even care."

"So this whole thing with Lucas is because of what he did with Nikki?" Haley asked.

"Because he doesn't seem to be sorry for what he did and now he's taken everything that I had."

"Nathan, it's only a spot on a team. You're still the captain… although that might be in jeopardy after the stunt you pulled tonight."

"I know I might have overreacted and made something out of nothing but I just can't help it, Haley. He doesn't deserve it and I want him away from Brooke. She has no clue what he's done and is shamelessly flirting with him."

"Only because she thinks you hate him and so she's trying to be nice to him because you're not." Haley reminded him.

"If she knew about Nikki and Lucas…"

"You know you can't use that as a way to get him away from her; you'll hurt Jake in the process too."

"I just can't bear to think of the same guy that was with Nikki being with Brooke too." Nathan shuddered at the image.

"Brooke doesn't even like Lucas that way. She's only helping him out so he helps her with Peyton." She told him. "Just try and relax a little."

Nathan nodded in reply while Haley was amazed that during the course of their talk, they were almost in Tree Hill.

"Thanks, Haley." Nathan told her as they pulled up to her house ten minutes later.

"No problem. I know you'd rather have talked to Jake about your problems but given the situation…" she trailed off.

"I really appreciate it. And I'm really sorry you didn't get to cheer tonight. Brooke told me you were looking forward to it." Haley gaped in disbelief.

"She did?" She chuckled, "Oh, my god. I was so relieved when Theresa showed up."

"That's too bad," Nathan mused, "You look pretty hot in that uniform." He touched the material on her body briefly. "Even if you're not disappointed and not cheering, I am."

"So you only notice me when I'm in this?" Haley was genuinely upset that the object of her affection only had eyes for cheerleaders, though she tried her best not to hide it with a mock-dramatic sigh.

"No," he shook his head, "I always notice you." He gave her a charming grin that made her blush. She cursed herself for blushing. "Hey, about we go out sometime this week?"

"But we always go out." She pointed out.

"No, I mean just the two of us." Nathan clarified. She broke out into a big grin before she could help herself.

"I'd love to." She replied before turning away as she began blushing even more furiously. "Thanks for the ride. I guess I'll speak to you soon."

"You can count on it. And thanks for riding with me. Most other people would have just let me leave alone. And you still look totally hot in that uniform." He watched as she got out of the car and began walking towards her house. He started the engine and waved to her before driving off towards the school to wait for Brooke and the team to arrive.

Once he was out of view, Haley looked upwards towards the sky and laughed loudly, doing a little twirl and clapping happily before bouncing all the way into her house and waiting for Brooke to get home.

------

It was a further twenty five minutes before the team bus came into view at the school. Nathan couldn't quite stomach going home and facing his father just yet. Better to do it when he had Brooke firmly on his side to help explain things.

Leaning against the car, he waited impatiently for the players and cheerleaders to make their way off the bus, and most of all, he hoped Brooke would be out before Whitey was.

To both his amazement and chagrin, Brooke emerged in high spirits, though it faltered when she saw Nathan waiting there. Directly behind her was Lucas, a hand resting comfortably on her back as he guided her down the steps.

Nathan clenched his jaw at the pair who made their way slowly to him. "What's up?" he asked the two.

"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be sulking in your room by now." Brooke replied.

"I figured I'd pick you up since I borrowed-"

"Stole."

"_Stole _your car, I didn't want you left without a ride."

"Oh, Lucas already kindly offered to take me home."

"Of course he did." Nathan nodded, "But since we're going the same way…"

"So is Lucas," Brooke pointed out. "Unless you're forgetting he's our neighbor across the road."

"Look, Brooke, just get in the car. It's been a long night." Nathan couldn't help but snap back at her.

"Only if you apologise to me for stealing my car, and my best friend – who I'm hoping is at home in one piece."

"I'm sorry for taking your car and Haley is fine. And I think she's waiting for you to call her so the sooner you get in the car, the sooner you can gossip." Nathan opened the car door for her.

"And apologize to Lucas with a handshake." Brooke said, clearly not going to move unless her brother made nice.

Nathan groaned inwardly, "I'm sorry, Lucas." He said a little grumpily. "Now can we go?" Brooke nodded with satisfaction and said goodbye to Lucas before climbing into the driver's seat of her car.

Nathan held out his hand towards Lucas in a supposed motion of alliance. At least that's what it looked like to Whitey, the team and Brooke who were all watching with awe.

"I'm sorry for what I did tonight." Nathan hissed at Lucas, "Even sorrier that I didn't get to kick your ass because we both know what you did – or should I say 'who'. The only reason I'm keeping my mouth shut is to protect the people I love. You either come clean or stay the hell away from my sister. Got it?" Nathan stared Lucas straight in the eyes.

Lucas just nodded and backed away, sending a small smile Brooke's way to make it seem like they had resolved their differences. Nathan left Lucas and made his way to the car, where Brooke had started the engine.

"Now, didn't that feel good?" Brooke questioned. Nathan nodded.

"Felt amazing, actually."

**To Be Continued…**


	4. Someone Who Loves You For You

_If you spot any mistakes, then it's because I quickly finished this two minutes ago. I have exams for the next couple of weeks and won't be writing or updating until the end of the month. But I hope you enjoy this!_

**Chapter Four: Someone Who Loves You For You**

Ever since she was born, the youngest of the James clan was always different from her siblings. She was never into the make-up and short skirts her three elder sisters obsessed about every second of every day. She preferred classic novels to fashion magazines and could actually pass a mirror without the overwhelming need to check her reflection.

Haley James was certainly _not _one of those girls who completely freaked whenever she had a date.

"Brooke, my hair looks like I slept in a bush!" Haley complained, regretting her decision to let Brooke style her hair for her big date with Nathan.

"I'm not done yet!" the girl replied fussing with the hair spray and curling irons. "Stop fidgeting. You have to look hot so he can't keep his hands off you."

"Quite frankly, I find your obsession with making me irresistible to your brother a little too disturbing. Not to mention a lifetime of creepy."

"Just sit and be quiet." Brooke instructed with a frown.

"I can't help it. I have all these butterflies and I'm so nervous," Haley sighed, "Plus, I think the hairspray fumes have gone to my head." She coughed for effect.

"Jake, what are you doing?" Brooke asked casting a look behind her at the young man.

"What you told me to do: sit in the corner and shut up." Jake grumbled. He'd been more than content making sarcastic remarks and teasing the girls until both Haley and Brooke tired of his less-than-enthusiastic attitude and yelled at him.

"This is what we've been waiting for!" Brooke had told him with a glare. "Now you can either be helpful and find Haley some shoes, or shut up and sit down!" Fearing the wrath of the brunette, he plopped himself down at Haley's desk.

"You're sitting down when we only have forty minutes left to get Haley ready?" she cried.

"To be truthful, all this is making me feel a little… gay." He replied. "I don't usually hang around with girls and obsessing over their hair and outfit on date nights."

"You're the one who wanted to come!" Haley said.

"That was before I realized this is not how I want to spend my evening." Brooke was going to say something but her cell began to ring loudly.

"Hold this!" she told Jake handing him the hair curlers as she went to answer her phone.

He took them and looked at it, making the fatal mistake of daring to touch the tip. He cursed loudly before sticking his finger in his mouth to sooth the burning sensation.

"Hi!" Brooke answered brightly, "how are you? I'm fine… tonight? … I guess but I'm a little busy getting Haley ready for her date with Nathan right now……… we could meet in about an hour at my house…… sure, I'll see you then. Bye!" Brooke hung up the phone and returned to curling Haley's hair.

"Big mystery date?" Haley asked her friend. Brooke shook her head.

"No, just Lucas. He's coming over to talk about his Nathan situation and my Peyton situation." Brooke explained seemingly unfazed.

Jake chuckled in his corner, earning a glare.

"Something you'd like to say?" Brooke asked.

"Just that I think Lucas is a little into you." Jake told her.

"Oh please. He's only helping me out."

"Which accounts for Nathan's reaction to you spending time with him?" Jake asked. "Back me up, Hales. Nathan would never have acted how he did if he didn't suspect Lucas was trying it on with you."

Haley dipped her head, remembering the honest conversation she and Nathan had in the car last week. "Uh, I think that's not the only reason, but I'm still siding with Jake. Lucas' offer is more than a little strange."

"Let me guess, boys and girls just can't be friends without one of them having ulterior motives, right?" Broke scoffed, "Come on, guys, we're all friends and none of us are trying to get into one another's pants. Well except Nathan and Haley."

"And Nikki and I had that… thing," Jake reminded them all, "but like you said… we're all platonic here." He playfully winked at Brooke and raised his eyebrows as if to say 'come here, baby'. Brooke swatted her hand at him and chuckled before adding a few more sprays to Haley's hair.

Okay, what do you think?" she asked, spinning Haley around to face Jake for his male opinion.

"I think she could try out for the lead in 'The Lion King'. What the hell did you do to her?" he asked staring in a mix of awe and confusion.

"What!" Haley cried as her hands flew to her hair and she looked at her reflection. "Is it really that bad?"

"No, it looks great!" Brooke reassured. "Jake, tell her she looks great." Brooke glared at him to pressure him into giving a compliment.

"It looks great, Haley. But I feel bad for the people sitting behind you in the movie theatre!" he said before crying out in pain as Brooke jabbed the curling irons at him. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Out, now!" she told him pointing to the door. "Go find Nathan and see what he's doing."

"Fine," Jake grumbled, "I'd rather see how guys prepare for dates."

--------

"So this is how you prepare for a date?" Jake asked from the doorway of Nathan's bedroom. His best friend was sitting on the floor and playing the Playstation. He had yet to change out of his basketball clothing from that afternoon.

"Yeah. Why?"

"You do realize your date with Haley is in half an hour and you still need to take a shower, right?" Jake asked as he sat down next to Nathan, "And at Haley's house, it's like they're preparing for the Miss World beauty pageant or something."

Nathan shrugged, "I'll take a shower in a second. It'll only take me twenty minutes to get ready, and you know girls; they're always running late. How much time have we spent waiting for them?"

"That's true. Although if you're late, you better be wary of Brooke. She's lightning with those curling tongs." Jake tenderly touched the area where he'd been attacked earlier. "I'm surprised your Dad is letting you out. After what I heard happened at the game, I was sure you'd be grounded for… oh, eternity."

"Well we have Brooke to thank for that. She was pissed at me, but she really stuck up for me. She lied and said that Lucas had been riling me up all day during practice about stealing my spot and that I just snapped because I was stressed over flunking a math test." Nathan grinned.

"I have to hand it to Brooke. She really can wrap your parents around her little finger. Although wouldn't you get in more trouble for flunking that math test?" Jake asked.

"I just told them I'm going to Haley's for math tutoring tonight." He grinned. "The less they know; the better. My dad thinks girlfriends 'distract' me from my 'A-game'"

"Your dad is just like my dad. But instead of 'distracting me from my A-game', evil girlfriends just want my little soldiers to repopulate the earth and make my parents grandparents before they're fifty."

Nathan chuckled as 'game over' flashed on the screen. "Okay, so it's shower time." He announced tossing Jake the Playstation control. "Have fun and if you pass level 12, call me!"

Ten minutes later, Nathan appeared out of his bathroom and began combing his hair while Jake battled with the game.

"So what are your plans for tonight? Any chance you're free to stop Brooke from inevitably stalking me and Haley tonight?" Nathan asked him.

"I'm free tonight, man, although I think Lucas will distract Brooke enough to stop her crossing over to stalker!Peyton status." Jake said without realizing what he had just revealed.

"Lucas?" Nathan questioned, rage quietly boiling inside him, "They're going on a date?"

"Uh, not date per se… apparently he's just helping her with the Peyton thing."

"Likely story." Nathan huffed, "Do you know where they're going to be?"

"He's coming over…" Jake began and just as Nathan's jaw clenched and he made his 'grrr' face, the other boy jumped up and stopped his friend's Hulk-like frenzy. "Hey look, Brooke's a smart girl, okay? You know your sister well enough to know that she'd never be stupid enough to buy into a few sweet words and any schoolboy charm. She's learnt from her mistakes, and I don't just mean with guys. We've _all_ learnt that people can deceive easily. If Lucas has any hidden agenda then she's sure to call him up on it before anything happens. Just stay cool, Nate, because if you do something like at the game; she won't ever trust you again. You can only play the overprotective big brother card enough before she begins to ignore you."

Jake's warning did little to remove the scowl marring Nathan's features.

"If he tries anything…"

"She'd probably kick his ass before you can," Jake added with a chuckle, "Relax. You're going out on a date with Haley James. You should be smiling… or nervous to the point that you might throw up. Whatever works for you." He shrugged as he managed to get Nathan to lighten up. "You were crapping your pants for a week until you finally asked her out."

"Yeah," Nathan smiled at the memory, "Thanks for letting me know she felt the same way. I owe you one."

"Just don't tell the girls I told you. I've probably broken like a million secret girl-codes by telling you. I was just sick of you both making goo-goo eyes at each other when the other wasn't looking."

"You can keep quiet about that too," Nathan said as he began picking out a shirt. He held it against his chest. "What do you think?"

"I'd go for the blue. It brings out your eyes." Jake mused as he pulled out a dark blue shirt. He handed it to Nathan who just stared at him. "I think I've been hanging out with the girls too much… I'm going to go boost up my testosterone with your PlayStation."

"I think that would be wise." Nathan agreed as he slipped on the blue shirt.

-------

"Wow, you look… amazing," Nathan told Haley as he picked her up for their date that evening. Haley blushed and self-consciously touched her hair.

"It's not too much?" she asked.

"No, not at all. You just surprised me. I'm more used to seeing you in jeans and a t-shirt and not… all this. I didn't even know you owned make-up… or a curling iron."

"Yeah, that was all Brooke." Haley admitted tugging on a curl. "Speaking of which, she's peeking through my bedroom window so if you don't want to tempt fate and have her follow us…"

"Yeah, let's go," Nathan took hold of her hand and lead her to his car, gallantly opening the door for her and making sure she was comfortable before going into his seat.

Haley glanced up at her bedroom window where Brooke was jumping up and down excitedly and giving her the thumbs up. Though Haley shot her a warning look as they drove off, she couldn't help the fact that her insides were doing the exact same thing.

-------

"Where are you going?" Peyton asked her brother as he walked out of his room.

"Out."

"Yeah, but where?" she folded her arms across her chest, an action their mother used to do when she was pissed at one of them.

"None of your business."

"Great! I'll tell that to dad when he calls tonight. You won't be in trouble at all…"

"Fine, you can tell him I'm studying at Mouth's house."

"Liar."

"I am!"

"Mouth is in Tennessee this weekend visiting his grandparents."

"No, he's not."

"Yes, he is. I saw you IMing him earlier. Where.Are.You.Going?"

"I'm.Going.Out."

"Well you can't. I need the car." She seemed satisfied thinking she had the upper hand.

"For what? You were going to spend the evening drawing your crappy moods."

"I _might _go out."

"Where?" Lucas mocked his sister's earlier tones.

"If you don't tell me, I'll…"

"You know you really are turning into the little sister from hell."

"I'm only two minutes younger."

"_Three_ minutes, and you're still annoying. Besides, I don't need the car. I'll walk it."

Peyton gasped, "You're going to that Cheer Slut's house!"

"Uh… I am not." Lucas blanched suddenly and tried to hide his face.

"Why are you hanging out with her?" Peyton asked clearly not pleased with her brother. "Is she teaching you 'three-pointers'?" she arched an eyebrow up suggestively. Lucas just shook his head.

"You know, if you ever decided to get to know her better and drop this ridiculous vendetta against her, you'll find out that she's a better person than you'll ever be. So just drop it, Peyton, because you're not doing yourself any favors."

With that, Lucas flew down the stairs of their home and walked out of the door. Instead of his plan to walk down the street and double back to Brooke's house when Peyton wasn't looking, he walked straight across the road and towards the house, regardless of what his sister thought of it.

-------

"Wow, you look… mad." Brooke greeted the young man at her door. She'd arrived back from Haley's only ten minutes ago and barely had time to sort out her own appearance before he'd turned up.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Lucas apologized trying to forget how annoying his sister was. "Something got under my skin."

"Would that something be blonde and oh-so-emo?" she asked leading him towards their kitchen.

"How'd you guess?" Lucas replied as he followed, casting surreptitious glances around the ample home.

"Don't worry, Nathan isn't here." Brooke told him pulling open the refrigerator door and taking two Cokes out of it. "He's on a date with Haley," she sang.

"Really?" Lucas seemed surprised. "I thought they were just friends."

"Haley's been crushing on Nathan since… well since she got here, and Nathan just had to wake up and smell the hottie inside the tutor girl." She sighed wistfully, "I'd just love it if they got married. My best friend would be my sister-in-law and so there would be no way she could get out of me being godmother to her kids."

"You'd be their aunt."

"Exactly! The super-cool fun aunt who's more stylish and fun than all of her sisters put together." She grinned. "Ha!"

"You seem to have it all planned out," Lucas said.

"Yeah, well… we'll see. She was so excited this evening. I don't think I've ever seen anyone glow with excitement. She must be dying at dinner. I should call her!" Brooke announced as she picked up the phone. Lucas was quick to take it out of her hands, "Hey!" she protested.

"Sorry about that, but I really don't think either of them would want you interrupting their date." He said as he placed it back on the hook.

"I guess you're right," Brooke agreed. "So you want to do this in my room?" she asked. He stared at her.

"What?"

"Our pow-wow," she reminded him for the reason he was there. "Isn't that why you're here?"

"Oh, sure." He followed her up to her bedroom and was amazed to find that the upstairs was almost as big as the floor below. Lucas was sure that he could fit his entire bedroom into their bathroom and still have enough space for a basketball court.

Brooke's room was surprisingly un-Brooke-like. He was expecting posters of movie stars or an overload of pink. But contrary to popular opinion, Brooke wasn't someone like Elle Woods from that _Legally Blonde_ movie. It was a neutral color with splashes of pale green decorations. Her pom-poms were hung behind her door and there were at least thirty photo frames occupying every flat surface, plus another twenty seven stuck on her mirror. Lucas noticed the DVD cover of 'The Way We Were' on the floor next to her TV and he smirked.

"I didn't know you were a Barbra Streisand fan," he said holding up the cover.

"I'm not. Haley and I were watching it the other night. We make it a point to watch chick flicks once every week. It gives us an excuse to cry, paint each other's nails, and stuff our mouths with junk food. Plus it keeps the boys away." Brooke explained, moving her desk chair next to her bed so Lucas could sit down. "So how does this work? Do we device some sort of game-plan? Kidnap them and make them listen to us? This was your idea, and quite frankly, anything that helps me deal with your sister is fine by me."

"I've known my sister all my life and even I can't deal with her."

"Well try living with the First Son of Tree Hill," she rolled her eyes, "it's not exactly a picnic."

"You're still the First Daughter."

"Correction: The First Overprotected Daughter." She said sitting herself down on her bed. "Last week I had Mouth over for a science project we had together, and my parents made me keep the door open. Can you believe it? Mouth!"

"You're not allowed boys in your room?"

"Nathan's allowed, for obvious reasons, and so is Jake. Although my dad is convinced he's on a mission to impregnate the entire female population with his super-teen sperm."

"So how come I'm here?"

"You lucked out. My parents are at some Mayoral dinner thing and Nathan's with Haley. I was just left to have a night to myself."

"Oh, sorry."

"Don't be! You saved me from a night of _American Idol_; you're like my hero or something."

"In that case, I'm glad to be of service." He grinned.

------

"So…?" Brooke asked as she saw Haley's caller ID flashing on her phone. "How was it?" she bit her lip in anticipation.

"It was…" Haley sighed.

"Yeah?"

"Perfect. Just perfect!" Haley said wistfully, obviously still on cloud nine after her date with Nathan. Brooke squealed loudly on the phone. "Brooke, calm down!"

"I can't believe it! My brother and my best friend? I'm so happy for you guys!"

"You can quit planning the wedding. It was just a date."

"Just a date? Haley, you said it was 'perfect'. How much more 'made-for-each-other' can it be?"

"We have to stop watching chick flicks," the other girl chuckled. "But it was just amazing, Brooke."

"Did he kiss you?"

"Yeah."

"Was it good?"

"Yeah."

"Was it soft and tender, or hot and passionate?"

"Uh…"

"Am I creeping you out with these questions?"

"Yeah."

"Dialling down the creepy factor," Brooke sighed, "Oh, Nathan just walked in the door. Hold on!" Brooke ran to meet her brother.

"Wow, you're excited." He said as she came bounding towards him.

"How was it?" Brooke asked, hiding the cellphone behind her back.

Nathan smiled, "Perfect." On seeing Brooke's expression, he sighed. "She's on the phone right now, isn't she?"

Brooke nodded and pulled out her phone, "Did you hear that, Haley? He said it was perfect too!"

Nathan just shook his head and brushed past his sister. "You're crazy."

"And you're in luuuuurve," Brooke sang to him.

Though he brushed it off and made a point of disappearing into his room, Nathan couldn't help but agree with Brooke. He'd not wanted to admit it so early in their relationship, but his date with Haley had been comfortable and fun. He thought he knew Haley pretty well but he'd been surprised at how much he'd learnt, and how much he'd opened up to her. Maybe it was because they had been friends for a while and relaxed in each other's company, or maybe it was something else. He just knew that this was something he wanted to continue.

If his sister would stop acting like a crazy person over it.

"What did you do all night?" Nathan asked Brooke when she'd finally calmed down and let Haley go to sleep.

"I just… hung out." Brooke told her brother, knowing that if she revealed Lucas had been with her, he'd be less than happy – and she didn't want to ruin his good mood.

"Alone?"

"Yeah, well you'd be surprised how addictive _American Idol _is when you get into it." She shrugged.

"As long as you had a good time," Nathan said dropping a kiss on Brooke's forehead. "Good night, Brooke."

"'Night, Nate." Brooke shut her bedroom door and sat down on her bed, glancing at the plan that she and Lucas had spent most of the night concocting. Closing her notebook, she sighed and hoped that it would work.

**To Be Continued…**


	5. Stepping Up, Pushing Back

_Okay so exams and weddings are officially over and the summer has begun. Hopefully this means many more updates coming more frequently. Thank you all for being so patient with me. I hope you like this. It's a little longer than usual. _

**Chapter Five: Stepping Up, Pushing Back**

"Well, well, if it isn't my only son," Dan Scott commented as his eldest child walked into the kitchen a little worse for wear. "Rough night?"

"Nathan had a date last night," Brooke announced to her parents as she entered the kitchen not far behind her twin brother. Nathan rolled his eyes at his sister.

"Thanks a lot," he muttered at her apparent need to broadcast his evening activities.

"With who?" Karen questioned as she poured some orange juice into two glasses for her children and served it for them.

"It's not big deal. It was just Haley." The large kitchen fell into silence at the reply. Brooke grinned happily as she gauged her parents' reactions.

"Haley? As in Haley James?" their mother asked, casting a glance towards her husband and Brooke. "I didn't know you guys were dating."

"Isn't it great?" Brooke exclaimed, expressing her joy at the pairing.

"Is Haley the one who hangs around that Jake Jagielski?" Dan wondered.

"We all hang around Jake, Dad," Brooke sighed, waiting for her father's next comment about how he didn't like nor trust the boy.

"I don't like or trust that boy," Dan grunted. Brooke, Nathan and Karen ignored the comment, all of them fully aware of his feelings towards the teenager.

"So how was the date?" Karen broached the subject of Nathan and Haley again.

"It was good." Her son confessed, hoping that that would be more than enough to satisfy them. Unfortunately he forgot his sister was in the room.

"It was perfect. They both said so," she added before turning to Nathan again, "You do know you'll be the hottest couple since… well the last hot couple. The Basketball Star and the Tutor Girl. I can totally see it." Nathan gave an exasperated sigh and glanced at his Dad to try and help get the spotlight off of him.

"And how was your night, Brooke?" Dan asked his daughter, "You spent the whole night alone?"

"Uh, not really," she shifted in her seat and took a gulp of her orange juice, her lips pulling into a sly smile. "I spent the night with Ryan Seacrest." Her father stared at her.

"Do I know this Ryan fellow? Does he go to your school? Is he older than you? Has he been tested for-"

"He's a television host," Karen reassured her husband, noticing the way he was becoming worked up. "I think what Brooke meant to say was she spent the night watching _American Idol_." She gave Brooke a warning glare.

"Mom! I wanted to see that weird vein pop out of Dad's head," Brooke complained.

"You know well enough that your father's blood pressure is high. One more prank like that could cost him his life. He's a high risk for heart attacks." Karen chastised snapping her briefcase closed, "Anyway, I'm off to work. Have fun!"

"Bye Mom!" Brooke and Nathan waved off their mother as she disappeared out of the front door.

"What's _American Idol_?" Dan asked after some time, causing laughs from his children. Soon afterwards, their father also left for work and the two siblings remained to eat their breakfast.

"So who was booted out of 'American Idol' this week?" Nathan asked glancing up at his sister. She stared his him.

"What?"

"On _American Idol_. You said you spent your night watching the talentless haps; so who left?"

"Oh… I can't remember," Brooke dismissed it and hoped he'd change the subject.

"That's strange." He pondered.

"Actually I think it was one of the guys," Brooke said quickly, "but, like you said, they're all talentless haps so it's hard to remember."

"I know Lucas was here last night," Nathan confessed. She shot him a questioning look. "Jake talks."

"Oh. I wanted to tell you but-" Brooke began trying to make up a reasonable excuse.

"You weren't going to tell me, Brooke, let's face it." Nathan had long ago resigned himself to the fact that his sister wasn't always totally honest with him. Despite what she told him.

"If you knew then why didn't you tell Mom and Dad?"

"Because you trust me and I'm more than used to covering up your secrets and lies. We've learnt that already. I just want you to be careful and not buy into his charms."

"I am being careful, Nathan. Lucas is just a friend and I've learnt my lessons with Nikki. I'm not going to be like that again."

"You mean sneaking out, sneaking in, going to bars and clubs… phoning me at two in the morning to come pick you up?" he counted off her previous misdemeanors.

"Like I said; I've learnt my lesson and that was all Nikki's influence. I was on the wrong path and as we all know, we quickly found out Nikki's true colors. I remember how messed up she was and I won't be one of those girls." Brooke promised him. "And this thing with Lucas isn't what you think. We're friends and we're just helping each other out. Maybe I can even get Peyton off your back. Just please don't tell Mom and Dad that Lucas was here last night."

"Brooke, you know I'll cover for you, I always have. Only… don't go back on your word. I'm trying to trust you this time around."

"And you can." She reached out and touched his hand to let him know she was sincere in her promise. "Thank you for looking out for me, though."

"What else are big brothers for?"

------

Haley and Brooke sat in Math class shortly before the lesson began. Not many people knew that Nathan and Haley were an unofficial couple yet, but Brooke was hoping that would change.

"Ask him out."

"Brooke, I can't do that!"

"Why not?"

"Because… it's weird. Girls don't ask guys out and I'd rather Nathan do it like he did before."

"You're totally into him."

"I think we've covered this point already. I'm going crazy just thinking about him."

"Aw, you're so cute." Brooke sighed, "Does this mean you'll let me copy your physics homework before next lesson?" Haley gave her a look before handing her the homework.

"Anyway, how did the Lucas thing go?" she asked.

"It was good. We have a game plan which will be coming into effect soon," Brooke added cryptically. Haley raised an eyebrow.

"How soon is soon?" she asked with genuine interest. Brooke grinned.

"As a matter of fact, tonight. We're going to tackle Peyton first. Lucas is going to take Peyton to the mall and oops! I'll just happen to be there too. Of course, Lucas will ask me to tag along for lunch, thereby forcing me and Peyton to spend time together. Eventually she'll see what a nice person I am, and an evil, moody, mean person she is. It's only a matter of time before we're getting along." Brooke explained to Haley, who tried her best to remain quiet throughout. "Isn't that a great plan?"

"Uh… it's a plan," Haley began, "but don't you think it's a little manipulative and maybe a bit transparent? I mean what are the odds you and Peyton will run into each other at the mall – aside from the fact that the mall is your mothership? And then again, I doubt Peyton shops in any of the places you shop."

"Easily solved, my little Tutor friend," Brooke said confidently, "I'll be perusing the vinyl section of her favorite music store at precisely 1pm and Lucas will do his best to make sure Peyton is there too."

"You really think this plan will work?" her friend questioned.

"It's positively foolproof!"

------

"I don't want to go to the mall," Peyton replied to her brother's offer. Lucas glanced at his watch, it was almost noon.

"Come on, Peyton. I don't want to go on my own and you were saying you wanted to check out some of those new records."

"I do… I just don't want to go with _you_."

"What did I do?"

"Aside from abandoning me and going over to Cheer Slut's house last night?"

"You still can't be upset about that, can you? I spent barely two hours there and we were working on a school project."

"Of course you were…" Peyton rolled her eyes. "If you want to go, then go. I'll go later or something."

"What's the point in wasting gas money? The prices are high enough as it is and you know Dad's always telling us to economize. I'll even buy you a few of those records! I hear they have some rare Led Zepplin stuff in." As predicted the offer seemed to interest Peyton into changing her mind.

"I do like to preserve the O-Zone layer," she said putting her sketchbook aside, "especially since bimbos like Brooke Scott use so much hairspray." She sniffed.

"How can you still not be over that?"

"How can you still not be over Brooke?" Peyton snitted back, leaving her brother to swallow his pride and let the insult slide. Hopefully she'd think differently soon.

------

Peyton wondered why exactly Lucas so was intent on getting to the mall so quickly. He'd wrestled for a parking space and had literally pulled her into the small music store that she favored. She liked it there since it catered her musical preferences and not many people where there since Virgin Megastores was just around the corner and took up two floors of the mall. The prices in her favorite store may be a touch more expensive but they were worth it and it wasn't like Peyton spent most of her money on make-up or clothes so she had plenty of her allowance to spare.

"Why do you keep looking at your watch?" Peyton asked as she noted her brother's recent obsession with time.

"I'm not," he answered before pointing at a stack of new records, "are those good?" Peyton turned to the stack and rifled through them, shaking her head occasionally or pausing just a few seconds to look at something before moving on.

"I don't think there's anything decent here today. Maybe I'll come back next week." She decided. "Want to go catch a movie while we're here?" Lucas looked panicked. It was almost one and he still hadn't seen Brooke. He had to keep Peyton here.

"How about that section there?" he pointed deeper into the store.

"I'm not really into the stuff from the 80s, you know that." She reminded him. "We'll go to the food court." As she tugged on his sleeve, a face popped out from the stacks.

"Lucas? Peyton?" Brooke questioned as she appeared behind them. "How great to run into you!" she grinned at the two. The blonde girl's eyes narrowed.

"What are you doing here?" she spat out.

"Shopping, of course." Brooke replied ignoring the tone in Peyton's voice.

"No, I mean _here_," Peyton clarified.

"Oh well I heard a lot about this store and I'd never really been inside," Brooke sighed, "There is some really great stuff in here." She admitted.

"Good for you. We're going," Peyton said to Lucas as she began pulling him away.

"Uh, how about we go for lunch?" Brooke offered. "I'm pretty starved and I don't like eating alone."

"Wow, you eat?" Peyton muttered but Lucas gave her a silencing nudge.

"That'd be great!" Lucas accepted the offer, earning himself a glare from his sister in return. "Won't we?" he prompted. She pouted but Lucas and Brooke both had already begun walking out of the store with Peyton in tow.

-----

"So what colleges are you thinking about?" Lucas asked Brooke.

"Oh, I don't know yet. Nathan and I were kind of looking at NCU or something nearby."

"You don't want to go to different colleges?" Brooke shrugged.

"It's not that. We'd just prefer to know that we have one another. It's not like we'd be rooming or anything. It's just a comfort zone thing. We could never really be that far apart. It must be the same for you guys, right?" she asked. Lucas gave a look at Peyton, who was still pouting and determined to show the two of them that she didn't want to be there.

"Well I was looking for a basketball scholarship but I'm not picky about what college. I'll just go with the best opportunity. I know Peyton wants to go to an art college in Savannah."

"Oooh, Savannah is nice," Brooke complimented trying her best to appeal to the blonde, who didn't respond. Brooke gave a desperate look towards Lucas.

"So, do you have any ideas for the Classic? It's only a few months away." He offered.

"I'm working on some stuff. I could really use some suggestions," Brooke looked at Peyton, "do you have any?"

"Nope." Was the curt reply. Brooke sighed heavily, obviously this wasn't working and she felt that Peyton had cottoned onto their plan. "I'm going to the bathroom." Peyton announced getting up.

"Oh, I'll come with you," Brooke offered.

"No thanks. I can do it on my own and everything. I'm a big girl now," Peyton said before stalking off with her bag and jacket in tow.

When she was out of earshot, Brooke sighed again and turned to Lucas. "This doesn't seem to be working."

"She's just being stubborn because she hates you." Lucas replied. "We'll work on her."

"When do you think she will come around?" Brooke asked, "Because I really have nothing in common with her and it's hard to keep up a conversation when that's the case."

"Just give it time. You're a pretty irresistible person and so eventually she'll like you," he complimented. "How about my little problem with Nathan?"

"Almost done. I'm going to talk to Tim tomorrow and after that… well, you know the rest." She gave him a smile. "He should be a pushover since his date with Haley went really well. I wouldn't be surprised if they were the next big couple in Tree Hill."

"And how about you? Don't you want to be part of that?" Lucas asked. "You're the most popular girl in school. Why shouldn't you have a guy on your arm?"

"Because I'm one of those girls who doesn't need a guy on my arm. I'm popular all on my own," she grinned. "Besides I don't really like the whole dating thing; it's too hard. I can have fun on my own or without a guy trying to get in my pants. Like us, for example, just two people having a blast without any romantic entanglements." Lucas dipped his head down.

"Are you sure it's not because of your Dad and Nathan thinking every guy wants to 'have his way with you'?" he questioned.

"I'm not a virgin!" Brooke exclaimed before blushing slightly with her urgency to tell him so. "What I mean is… just because I'm not on the dating scene doesn't exactly mean I don't get any action. I can keep my bed partners on the down-low when it comes to my parents and brother. That whole 'chastity belt' thing was only created to keep guys away. My nights out with Nikki got me to see a whole lot more than what I really bargained for." At the mention of her name, both Brooke and Lucas seemed to tense. "But those days are over." She added quickly.

"Peyton's taking a long time in the bathroom," Lucas observed. Brooke looked at the empty chair and sighed.

"Well I don't think she went to the bathroom. Her things are gone and so are the keys you left on the table. I think it's safe to say she's left the mall vicinity." With another sigh she sat back in her chair, "I guess this plan was a bust."

"I'm sorry. I know you really wanted to build bridges with Peyton." Lucas apologized.

"We still have time." Brooke reminded him. "Anyway, how about I drop you home?" she offered. Lucas shook his head.

"We shouldn't let this afternoon go to waste. Let's go catch a movie or something." He suggested brightly.

"Okay, but on one condition. I pick the movie."

Lucas groaned just knowing it'd be a chick flick or something with Johnny Depp in it. "Ugh, fine." He agreed making a face, but secretly he was pleased that she had taken up his offer.

-----

Brooke and Lucas pulled up outside Brooke's house sometime before sunset. "So," she said turning to him, "Am I supposed to put my hand down your shirt or something now?" He frowned in confusion.

"What?"

"Come on, we went to the mall, caught a movie, you bought the tickets, I got the popcorn, and now I'm dropping you home before curfew. Some might say this was a date!" she winked. Lucas chuckled nervously. "Relax, I'm just kidding. Truth be told, I think both Nathan and Peyton would hate us if we started dating. It's never a good idea to get involved with your worst enemy's sibling."

"Yeah, you're right." Lucas agreed. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow when we start Operation Keep-Nathan-From-Kicking-My-Ass."

"We need a shorter name." Brooke mused to herself as Lucas let himself out of her car.

"Hmm," he agreed, "Goodnight."

"What? No goodnight kiss?" she raised an eyebrow and he hesitated. After several seconds of him contemplating the best move, she broke out into a smile and gave him a wink. "Only kidding. Have a good night."

"Goodnight," Lucas replied again. He walked across the road to his house, glancing back once or twice towards Brooke, who was getting out of her car and walking to her own house. She too glanced back at when she caught his gaze, gave him a small wave and a smile before disappearing inside. Lucas hoped that eventually, if all went to plan, goodnight kisses would be the norm. But for now, he had a fuming sister to deal with.

-----

"Yo, guess what!" Tim ran up to his friend at the beginning of lunch, "Your sister asked me out."

"We've been through this already, Tim," Nathan sighed, "Your dreams aren't real. Brooke's shot you down like twenty times this year."

"No, dude, she really asked me out. We're going out tonight and at 9pm, she's going to let me touch her." The other boy explained excitedly. "This is going to be great!"

"What?" her brother made a face at his friend's description.

"I said it's going to be great. After all this time, she finally caved because she wants a piece of the T-Man." Tim chuckled loudly.

"What the hell does 'touch her' mean?" Nathan questioned coming to a stop.

"Brooke said that we're going out and I'll take her home, we'll park outside your house and then at 9pm I'll touch her. Then she'll yell for help." He shrugged, "Maybe she likes it rough."

Nathan gave him a glare, "I don't think that's it, Tim. Did she say anything else?"

"Uh, not much. Just that thing at nine. Can I borrow a condom? I used all mine up making balloon animals for my cousins," he asked, completely disregarding the fact that he was talking to her brother.

"She's not going to sleep with you, Tim," Nathan sighed as he scanned the school for Brooke. "I think there's something more going on."

"Really? Like what?"

"I don't know, but I have a feeling I'm going to talk to someone about this." He wondered aloud.

"Maybe you should talk to Lucas. Brooke mentioned something about him coming to help," Tim shrugged. Nathan faced Tim and cocked an eyebrow up.

"Really? Listen, Tim, do me a favor."

"Anything, Nate."

"Cancel the date with Brooke," at Tim's groan, Nathan elaborated, "I'll make it up to you, okay? I'll get you a date with Lucy Parish instead. Just tell Brooke your date is off." Tim seemed unhappy with Nathan's instructions but followed them all the same. "And another thing… have you seen Lucas?"

------

Lucas sunk another ball into the basket with ease. He had no idea why he was spending his lunch hour in the gym, besides the fact that he was hiding from his sister, who'd treated him with death glares and threats of 'never speaking to you again, asshat!' all night after the stunt he and Brooke had pulled on her.

Suffice to say, things in the Sawyer household were frostier than usual.

Not that he didn't deserve it. He had gone out of his way to manipulate her for Brooke's sake, and indirectly, his own sake.

The huge doors opened with a loud creak, allowing a burst of light from the afternoon sun into the dimly lit gym. Lucas spun around and dropped the ball in his hands.

"Lucas… are you busy tonight?" Nathan questioned as he strode towards the blonde boy. Lucas looked around nervously and Nathan held up his hands as if in surrender. "Don't worry, I'm not looking for a prom date. I just heard of your little plan and I just wanted to give you some advice."

"What would that be?" Lucas asked.

"Only that you don't go along with them. See, I know what you and my sister are trying to do and it's not going to work. I'm not some guy that you – especially you – can manipulate."

"You have it all wrong!" Lucas insisted.

"No, I don't think I do." Nathan snapped back, "See, I expect this from my sister. She's young, she's naïve and she thinks she knows what's best for everybody. She wants us all to be friends because she _needs_ us all to be friends. I've seen her put all her trust in somebody only to have them hurt her and I can't see that happen again. You think that you can just be friends with Brooke by helping her and then she'll suddenly fall in love with you – but it won't happen because you'll just hurt her again." Nathan told him, somehow being able to see through Lucas' intentions.

"I won't hurt her…"

"No, you will because everyone always does. She just hates letting people know it. Besides, you've already done something she'll never forgive you for. It'd be a shame to let it come out," Nathan threatened.

"You wouldn't." Lucas challenged.

"Wouldn't I? That's just a chance you're going to have to take. I could go and tell her about your incident with Nikki but I won't because I don't want to hurt her or Jake." The brunette explained.

"So what do I have to do for your silence?" Lucas questioned, wondering where all this was leading. Nathan sighed.

"I'll be nicer to you, Lucas. Not just because I care about Brooke, but also because the team needs you too. Now I'm willing to be the bigger man here and put my issues aside, but you have to promise that you won't get any closer to Brooke. In fact, lay off her completely, okay? Just help her with her Peyton problems if you can."

"What makes you think you can just give me orders?" Lucas challenged the younger man's commands.

"Because we both care about Brooke and the last thing either of us would want is for her to get hurt." Nathan replied. "I mean, I would challenge you to a one-on-one to play for it but I haven't had lunch yet and I have a math quiz to cram for. We'll just assume I won." Lucas scoffed, "Okay, fine, it was a tie. But you do this for me and I won't tell Brooke anything about you and Nikki."

"Ever?"

"I'll think about it," Nathan extended his hand, "Do we have a deal?"

Lucas hesitated before taking Nathan's hand, "It's a deal."

**To Be Continued…**


	6. A Fallen Tree

_An update! An update! Look who's updating! I wanted to get this up to you guys ASAP so I apologize for any spelling/grammar mistakes you might find in this. You guys are just simply awesome! _

**Chapter Six: A Fallen Tree**

Brooke fumed out of her house and strode across the road to Lucas' house. Knocking furiously on the door, she clenched her jaw as she waited for it to open. As soon as it did, she plastered on a not-so-sweet smile and narrowed her brown eyes at him.

"What the hell happened to you?" she demanded placing her hands firmly across her chest. "I waited for you last night and you never showed up. Tim touched me! I had to practically fight him off."

"Sorry," was the less than apologetic, almost cold, reply.

"Is that all I get? A pathetic 'sorry'?" she mocked his deep voice. "That doesn't cut it, Lucas. We had a plan. We had a deal."

"I'm really sorry, Brooke." He tried again.

"Well, we'll just have to come up with a different plan." She resolved, "We can do it after school."

"I'm busy after school today, Brooke."

"Not anymore," she scoffed.

Lucas sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, Brooke, but I don't think I can."

"Tomorrow?" By now she was getting impatient.

"It's not good either," he told her with a sigh. Brooke wasn't sure if it was through regret or annoyance.

"Fine," she spat out, "how about _you_ tell me when it's convenient. Not that I'll be holding my breath, anyway." She spun on her heel and walked off.

Lucas sighed again as he watched her angry exit. Perhaps he should have come clean with her as to why he'd not been there last night. As he shut the door, he came face to face with his sister's own clenched expression. She began to open her mouth when he held up a hand to silence her.

"Don't even start." Lucas said.

-----

"And then he totally blows me off completely and treats me as if I was something stuck in his teeth. Can you believe that? After all I did to help him!" Brooke sniffed.

"Didn't he help you with Peyton first?" Haley wondered aloud, but was silenced by a glare. "Hey, I'm on your side. It was a pretty cold thing he did, but you can't forget that he did try and help you."

"I bet it was Peyton digging her claws into him." Brooke sneered as she saw the blonde walk across the quad.

"She's his sister, Brooke."

"It doesn't mean he has to like her. Or listen to her for that matter. I just don't get it." She sighed and sat back in her seat. "We were having fun… at least I thought so."

"You knew him for a week," Haley reminded her.

"But I was beginning to trust him," her friend continued, "and you know I have trust issues. I told him some things that took me a month to tell you!"

"Wow, you guys were epic," Haley commented dryly, receiving a playful shove from Brooke in reply. "I'm sorry, Brooke, but you're acting as if you knew him as long as you knew Jake. It's not like you dated, it's not like you kissed or slept together or anything. Before this you barely even looked at him."

"And now I'm never going to look at him again."

"Can I look at him?" Haley grinned; knowing her comment would force a smile out of Brooke.

"You're dating my brother, so no, you cannot look at him or any other man besides Nathan ever." Brooke glared before dipping her pinkie finger in Haley's yogurt and licking it.

"Hey! That's my food!" she whined. Spying Jake heading towards them, she called out to him, "Jake, help! She's stealing my food!"

The boy in question sped up his pace to join them and stood over their bench. "Well, well, well, you girls are acting like four year-olds." He tutted loudly as he shook his head.

"She started it!" they both cried out. Jake then dipped his own pinkie finger in Haley's yogurt and licked it off.

"Mmmm, strawberry," he sighed dreamily. Brooke giggled while Haley stood up and grabbed her bag.

"You guys are mean. I'm going to find Nathan." She decided throwing them a pout before she strolled off. Jake took her seat besides Brooke.

"What's up?" he asked when he noticed the faint frown marring her forehead. She sighed and swatted her hand in the air.

"Oh, nothing. Just… girl stuff that Haley is only interested in." She said, knowing that the excuse of 'girl stuff' or ;girl problems' was more than enough to scare both Nathan and Jake away and leave Haley and herself to gossip properly. But this was not one of those times.

"Like what? I can be Haley too!" he put on a high voice, "What's the matter, Brookie Cookie? Isn't Nathan swoony?" he batted his eyelashes several times before Brooke rolled her eyes at him. He straightened and went back to normal. "Okay, seriously, what's wrong?"

"The Sawyers," Brooke sighed.

"Well Peyton doesn't make you as upset or mad like this usually, so I assume that her twin brother is also in your bad books?"

"You guessed correctly, Jake," she confirmed, "You're the only boy I trust besides Nathan." Brooke put a hand on his knee. "Don't ever break my heart, okay?" He placed his own large hand over hers and nodded.

"Never. Although I have pledged my eternal love to Nathan so you'll have to just settle for my unwavering loyalty and absolute trust." Brooke giggled.

"I'll take it. Now you can walk to me to History and tell me how much Lucas and Peyton suck."

As the two walked off happily in the opposite direction, Lucas' eyes followed Brooke and he turned back to his sister, who looked less than impressed.

"Am I going to have to cope with your puppy-dog looks for the rest of the year?" she asked.

"Shut it, Peyton," he snapped.

"No, I will not 'shut it'. _You're _the one who lost that game to Nathan so _you're _the one who has to back off, so don't take it all out on me. You've just been given a free pass to get over her so why don't you just swallow your damn pride and do it because I'm not going to have you moping around the house." She told him frankly. Lucas, though he admitted she had a point, just glared.

"You're right, Peyton. After all, this town is too small for two brooding blondes," he sniped back.

"Look, Luke, you really have nothing to stand on. Brooke hates you, Nathan hates you. You may as well just keep your side of the deal and keep away from her. I told you getting missed up with the Scotts was a bad idea. They think we're too good for them anyway." Peyton reminded him, pleased that finally Lucas had a reason to stay away from Brooke and Nathan. She tugged on his sleeve, "Come on, we've got Biology."

Lucas silently agreed and let her lead him to their next class, taking one final glance at the distant figures of Brooke and Jake.

-----

Three months later, Lucas was still making good on his deal with Nathan. He'd kept well away from Brooke, barely speaking to her during practice or games and only the occasional word when they crossed paths in their street or at school. However, he still allowed himself to look at her when neither she, her brother nor his sister was looking. He cringed when she fumbled through a translation in Spanish, and he clapped loudly when she led the cheers during pep rallies. But she never glanced in his direction, unless she was forced to, and then it was only a frosty gaze.

It was all beneficial for Nathan, who took full advantage of the deal by keeping Brooke closer to him. She was determined to ignore Lucas to an extent that she actually was more inclined to hang around with Nathan and accept rides to and from school with him. Fortunately for them all, by this time Brooke hardly spoke of Lucas and only sometimes mentioned him when Peyton was getting on her nerves.

Peyton too was pleased with the current situation. With Brooke freezing him out, Lucas was more or less forced to ally with his sister. He wasn't going out of his way to talk to Brooke or help her out. He was merely giving her all the space in the world so that he wouldn't cross Nathan.

All in all, it just seemed as if everything was they way it was supposed to be.

"Nathan, you are _not_ going out tonight!" Dan Scott yelled at his eldest child shortly before nine in the evening on that Friday.

"Dad, I have to, okay? I've already booked the restaurant and Haley is waiting." Nathan replied as he carried on getting his outfit ready.

"You have practice tomorrow morning, Nate. You know you have Saturday morning practice every other week and you _know _you have a nine o'clock curfew on those Fridays – you're not going out."

"This is an exception, Dad. Haley and I are celebrating our three month anniversary and we had a game last week so we couldn't do it then." Nathan fiddled around with his tie, "I'll be back before midnight and I won't go tomorrow night."

"No deal." Dan replied firmly. Nathan sighed. "I'm not going to move on this one, Nathan. You know the rules."

"And I'm asking you to just be flexible this _one_ time, Dad! It's not like we're going to a party. We're having a meal, for god's sake; you can even call the restaurant and make sure."

"Oh, come on, Dan." His wife began, "You can just let him off this once. He's in love." She sighed wistfully wrapping an arm around her husband's. "You can remember that, can't you?"

"I don't care, Karen, he's not going out." Dan removed his arm away.

"I told Whitey and he gave me a one-practice pass. Besides, I've attended every single practice and game since the season began," Nathan argued.

"Discounting the one you were sent off on because of the childish fight with that Lucas boy." His father reminded him. "Who cares what that old man has to say anyway? He's too soft on you boys. If it were up to me—"

"Well it isn't, Dad! You've already got all the power you can have in this town without taking over the one escape that I have from you." Nathan finally snapped and he spun around to face his father; his tall frame just slightly giving him the advantage.

"What did you say?" his father dared Nathan to repeat his comment.

"You heard me. I'm so sick and tired of you always being on my case. I don't care about photo opportunities or budget cuts. I don't care if you want me to do what you couldn't in college. I don't care if you're the Mayor; I'm tired of living under your goddamn thumb all the time. For once in my life I have something all of my own and you're _still_ trying to run my life."

"That Haley has got you—" Dan began trying to counter his son's outburst.

"Haley hasn't done anything except made me realize that I'm my own person, not the Mayor's son." Nathan stopped and looked around the room. His mother and father stared at him in a mix of shock, disbelief and anger. "I'm going out." Nathan said finally as he moved towards the front door.

"Nathan…" Dan began speaking for the first time after Nathan had finished his tirade. Nathan looked back at his father. "I'm willing to forgive you for whatever possessed you to say all that stuff to me… if you don't walk out of that door."

Nathan looked at his father's steely glare and then at his mother's look of desperation. She seemed to be telling Nathan not to make things worse, but he knew that she too was tired of Dan's constant belief that he must be in control of all things.

"Dad, I wish I was sorry for saying all that but I'm not." He replied honestly, "I'll be back tonight."

"You walk out that door – don't bother coming back." Dan shot back. The last thing he heard was the slam of the door.

Brooke, who'd been watching from the doorway, sighed. She was used to her father and Nathan's dramatics over basketball and going out, but this time had been something she'd never really seen before. Dan grunted in frustration at losing the argument and stalked off to his study. Karen came up to Brooke and cupped her daughter's cheek with her hand.

"Don't worry, Brooke, he'll be back after he's cooled out. He might even spend the night at Jake's as usual. You know your brother. I'm sure he'll just glower until he sees Haley. She's changed him for the better, you see." Karen told her. "Since the men have left us this evening, how about some ice-cream, popcorn and Patrick Swayze?" she suggested trying to lighten the mood. Brooke broke into a grin.

"Only if we get to see _Ghost_ before _Dirty Dancing_ because I hate crying before bed." Brooke accepted her mother's offer.

"It's a deal." Karen lead the way to the kitchen as Brooke turned her head to see the front door, and the empty space that Nathan had left.

He'd be back tomorrow.

-----

Bright and fresh that afternoon, Brooke bounced all the way to Jake's house, pleased to see the young man outside his house. He was loading up his car along with his parents. "Jake! Trying to flee the country?" she teased as they spotted her. She greeted his parents who disappeared into the house to gather more bags.

"Not quite. We're going to my grandparents' for their 60th wedding anniversary."

"The ones in New York?" she asked.

"Nope, Florida." He replied. "Palm Springs for a whole weekend."

"Are you taking Jenny too?" Brooke asked, kneeling down where the infant's baby carrier lay on the porch.

"Well I've been threatened with severe punishment if they don't get to see their great-granddaughter. That's the one upside to being a teen father; they get to spoil both of us." Jake loaded another bag into the car.

"Well I won't keep you long. I'm just here to get Nathan. I'm surprised he's not helping you. He's so lazy sometimes." Brooke sighed.

"Nathan's not here, Brooke." Jake told her.

"Really?" she looked at her watch, "Oh, maybe he went to practice after all. I would have thought he'd skip it to spite my dad. They had a big blowout last night." She rolled her eyes.

"Over basketball?"

"And Haley. And dad being on a complete power trip."

"Wow, sounds like…"

"Usual? Kind of but it was really weird. Dad told him not to come back if he left and… well, Nathan walked out."

Jake sighed, "Sometimes Nathan's too stubborn for his own good. But… he's not here, Brooke. I haven't seen him since after school yesterday."

She frowned, "Then where is he?"

"He has a girlfriend now. Maybe he's with her since they went out last night too." Jake suggested. Brooke pulled out her cell.

"Good thinking," she said as she dialed Haley's home number.

"She probably has her own method of cooling him down." Jake muttered as he picked up Jenny's baby carrier and cooed to her about Florida while Brooke made the call. A minute later, she had hung up.

"Are the lovebirds there?" he asked before noting Brooke's confused expression. "Hey, what's up?"

"He's not there."

"Maybe he's at Tim's." Jake shrugged.

"No, neither of them are there. Haley never came home last night." Brooke turned to him, "Jake…"

"You don't think…" he began but Brooke couldn't reply. Jake's parents had come out of the house and were urging Jake to hurry up so they could beat the traffic. "Brooke?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. "Going off is Nathan's thing but Haley…" she dialed Haley's call number but snapped her phone shut when it diverted to voicemail. "Dammit!"

"Look, they're probably just…" he sighed, "They'll be back in a couple of hours. Come on, neither of them would really run away. Haley's the universal voice of reasoning." He reminded his friend.

"Jake!" his mother called out to him.

"Brooke, I have to go," he told her. She nodded and let him put Jenny safely in the car.

"Yeah, you go. I'll call you when they turn up." She promised giving him a light kiss and a hug.

"They'll probably be back soon. They might have run of out gas, lost their cellphones, and had no money to use a payphone. They could have spent the night in Nathan's car on the side of the road. Any second now you'll see them pushing his car up the hill to your place. It's probably a very funny story." He tried to reassure the young girl with another kiss and hug. She forced a smile and let Jake get into the car and drive off towards Florida, giving him a wave to send him off.

Once they had gone, she flipped open her cell and tried both their numbers – both diverting to voicemail again. Cursing, she tried to tell herself that Jake's theory was the likeliest.

But then again… there had been far too many 'probably's, 'might's and 'could's for her liking.

**To Be Continued…**


	7. Don't Mess With The Flow

_I honestly didn't intend to leave this so long. It just kept kicking my ass and wouldn't get written. _

**Chapter Seven: Don't Mess With The Flow**

Karen Scott paced the living room as she spoke to the police on the phone. Ever since Brooke had run home and told them that Nathan and Haley had disappeared, a feeling of dread had entered her heart. Her son, though sometimes rash and irresponsible, had never run away. Yes, he had stormed out of the house after an argument with Dan but she was always aware of his whereabouts. She always knew he would stroll through the door the following morning – still sulking usually – and eventually calm down.

He would always disappear to Jake's house for several reasons. One because Jake Jagielski knew Nathan almost better than anyone outside the household, but mostly because he knew how much his father despised Jake. Karen trusted Jake and thought of him as just an extended member of their family. The same had applied to mild-mannered Haley James who she had much preferred to Nikki.

But now she wasn't so sure.

"Well what do you mean you can't do anything!" Karen cried into the phone at the poor person on the other end of the phone. "This is my son! Do you know who my husband is?"

Brooke chewed on her nails as she sat awkwardly on the couch. She didn't particularly want to sit but she didn't want to stand either. She wasn't quite sure what to do with herself during this time.

"If anything happens to my son because your police department were so unconcerned with doing their jobs and looking for him; then be sure that I will make life hell for all of you. You do _not_ cross Karen Scott and live to regret it!" she yelled before hanging up the phone with such force that Brooke jumped. This side of her mother was yet unknown to her. The crazy 'oh no you didn't' side.

"What happened? What did they say?" she asked her mother as she stood up from the couch after suddenly finding it uncomfortable.

"They won't file a missing person's report until they've been missing for 24 hours. They say being missing for fifteen and a half isn't long enough." Karen hit the table in frustration with her hand, "Of course it's long enough. They could be lying in a ditch for all we know." She muttered.

"Maybe Dad could do something…" Brooke started, wondering whether the Mayor had the power to pressurize the police department who she always knew were incompetent. "I mean he is the Mayor. He signs their paychecks, right?"

"Oh our police department couldn't find a cat up a tree," Karen sighed as she thought of her husband who had decided to disappear to work on a Saturday. "Where is your father? I've left messages eight times and he still hasn't called back." she picked up the phone receiver and pressed '1' on the quickdial. She sighed loudly as it found the voicemail again. "Dan, this is your wife _again_! In case you didn't receive my last eight messages, our son is missing with his girlfriend. It would be very much appreciated if you'd come home before I kick you-"

"Honey, I'm home!" Dan's voice called from the front door. Brooke immediately ran to the hallway to greet him while Karen hung up the phone – hoping that he would ignore that last message.

"Where have you been? We've been calling you but we got the stupid answering machine. Have you any idea what's happened?" Karen chastised though she was pleased he was finally home so he could at least do something.

"Yes, I know. I got your messages," Dan nodded as he made his way into his study – his wife and daughter following after him.

"Well why didn't you ca—never mind. You're here now and we can finally get someone to help. The police department isn't doing anything. They told us to wait-"

"-twenty-four hours as is the procedure for any missing persons." Dan finished off as he sat down in his antique leather chair at his antique desk he'd inherited from his grandfather. "So we wait."

"But this is Nathan." Karen and Brooke both cried as if Dan didn't realize it.

"I know." He nodded, seemingly uninterested in it all. Almost as if it was just a random teenager from another family that he didn't particularly care about.

"This is your son. Your own flesh and blood. Why are you not picking up the phone and giving people hell?" Karen demanded.

"Because it _is_ Nathan and he'll probably walk in later on acting as if nothing has happened. Like he always does, Karen." He picked up a newspaper and opened it up, leaving Karen and Brooke to exchange confused glances.

"Dad, are you high?" Brooke questioned. Usually this sort of comment would result in a glare from her father or a nudge from her mother. Instead, no reply came. "Seriously, this is Nathan. He hasn't gone to Jake's like usual, he went to Haley's and they left. They _left_. Nobody knows where they are. Haley's parents are literally going crazy and – by the way, we said we'd help them seeing as you're the _mayor_ – neither of them are answering their cellphones."

"They'll be back," Dan said with a certainty that seemed like he knew his son. But he didn't really. Not like Brooke knew him.

"This is different, Dad," she said. "Because in all the time you've known Nathan, he _never_ takes his car to Jake's. Never. None of us do because it's like fifteen minutes from here."

"I fail to see the point…"

"He took his car, Dad, which means he intended on going to Haley's and probably going off to Texas!" Both Karen and Dan frowned at her conclusion.

"Texas?"

"Well he left just after nine last night and it's almost one in the afternoon and I'm thinking that after driving for that long they're only like six hours away from Texas. But if we stand here and wait until the police will get off their asses and find them – then they could already be out of state!"

"They're seventeen. How out of state can they go? Besides, he still lives under my roof. I legally own him."

"So why aren't you going to do anything?" Brooke questioned.

"Because he deserves it. He went against everything I told him so he can go out on a date with that girl. So what if they've run off together? They're probably in a crappy little motel ten minutes away. It's just Nathan's way of acting like a man. Believe me, when he gets home, he'll be grounded until the hovercraft is invented." Dan promised.

"What if he's in a ditch somewhere? What if they got into an accident? What if he's never coming home?" his daughter reeled off a list of scenarios.

"He'll be back by this afternoon. If not, tomorrow, but by then we'll have the police looking for them. Haley doesn't strike me as the type of girl who'd skip class so by Monday they'll be back at school. If Nathan thinks this will make me go easy on him; he's in for a nasty surprise."

"I can't believe you," Brooke crossed her arms and looked between her parents. "One of your children is missing and neither of you seem the slightest bit bothered – except Mom, of course, but _you_," she pointed at her father, "you're acting as if he's just going to miraculously appear in two seconds whenever you're ready to 'forgive him' or whatever. Can't you just stop being a control freak for a minute and start acting like a father? A father who will pick up that phone and pull every string you can pull so we can get my brother back?"

Dan stared at his daughter throughout her little tantrum before turning to his wife, who seemed to side with Brooke.

"No." he replied. Brooke growled in frustration at her father before storming out of the house, just like her brother had done the night before.

Dan and Karen watched her leave and he looked up at his wife. "What?" he asked.

She shook her head in despair. "You better hope he's okay, Dan."

--

Brooke couldn't believe how her father was acting. Nathan was his _son_. His heir. His protégé. His freakin' favorite. And he didn't care that he'd run off?

Needless to say, her father's current attitude frustrated her a lot. It almost made her sad that his head was so far up his own ass that he couldn't spare a moment to look for his own son.

She was so engrossed in her thoughts of Nathan, Haley and her anger at her father, that she didn't realize that she was directly headed for a collision with another body. Before she stumbled and fell over her heels, a pair of arms steadied her.

"You okay?" Brooke looked up to see Lucas staring down at her; his hands holding onto her shoulders. She didn't say anything but look up at him with a shocked expression crossing her features. "Oh, sorry," he removed his hands and stuffed them into the pockets of his jeans, pulling his duffel bag up on his shoulder. "I forgot you weren't talking to me." When no reply from the girl came, he gave an understanding nod and began walking past her.

She burst into tears.

"Brooke?" he glanced back and went to her side. "Brooke, what's wrong?" he questioned, hoping that it wasn't him who had caused her to break down.

"Nathan's gone," she sobbed, clutching onto his shirt. Lucas' eyes widened.

"Gone where?" he asked as he held her to his chest and let her cry. It certainly explained why Nathan had failed to show up to practice.

"I don't know. No-one knows. He stormed out of the house after arguing with my dad and now he and Haley are missing!"

"Haley's gone too?" This was definitely peculiar. Deciding it was best for the crying girl to be moved somewhere much more private, he offered to take her home – but she shook her head and refused to go back to her father, and instead, they walked the very short distance to his house.

He let them both in and put his gym bag haphazardly on the floor next to the door and led her to the living room.

"Do you want a drink?" he offered, "We have Diet Coke, water… ungodly amounts of Sunkist…" he thought of the orange cans taking up one huge shelf in their refrigerator. Peyton just _had_ to enter that competition to see Fall Out Boy and win a year's supply of the soda.

Brooke shook her head and sighed. "I don't get it, Lucas, he's never done this ever. And he definitely wouldn't have left without saying goodbye to me or telling me. I've called his cell so many times and nobody is picking it up. I don't know what's happening. It's like some crazy nightmare and I just want to wake up."

"I'm sure they're both fine."

"I need Nathan, Lucas. He's my brother, he's my twin. We've never been apart for more than a night. Not ever. Not even at camp! We always were at the same camp. I even spent one summer at basketball camp because arts and crafts camp was full!"

"Arts and crafts?" Lucas knew he probably shouldn't be focusing on that in this situation but it seemed strange for the cheerleader.

"I went through a phase of glitter," Brooke shrugged, "but we've never known a place without each other. I talk to him every day – even if it is only to argue." She wiped her tears with the side of her hand.

Lucas wasn't quite sure what to do. He knew there were only so many times he could reassure her and tell her that her brother would be back and that they were both fine before it became redundant.

"Instead," Brooke continued, "of doing something constructive, my dad would rather spend nine hours twiddling his thumbs."

"Well why should we?" Lucas asked, "Why don't we go look for them? Maybe they're still in Tree Hill. Maybe they're on their way back. Maybe someone saw them. I'm sure your mom would call when they hear from them. We might as well go see if someone knows something." He suggested. "Better than twiddling our thumbs."

For the first time in a few hours, a smile crept onto her face – perhaps even a simmer of hope.

"You'd do that? Go around all of Tree Hill to find someone who hasn't said one nice word to you?" she asked. He nodded.

"He's important to you. God knows what I'd do if Peyton ever did something like that."

"We should start at the café, the Rivercourt, the beach… make our way to my dad's beach house. They could be there."

"Not motels?"

"Well we'll cross that rat-infested bridge when we get to it," she shuddered. She wasn't too keen on venturing towards Tree Hill's 'dark side'.

"I was by the Rivercourt this morning and I didn't see anything. And I stopped by your mom's café for breakfast. Let's check out the motels first and then your dad's beach house. They've probably gone somewhere they won't be found."

"Like out of Tree Hill?" she wondered aloud.

"I'm not saying they have," he replied honestly, "but if they're not here then it's a possibility. We just have to hope, okay?" she nodded and stood up.

"Thanks for doing this, Lucas. You really don't have to. It's just that Jake's out of town, Haley's missing too, my mom's waiting by the phone, and my dad's an ass."

"It's okay," he said as he and Brooke left his house, "I wouldn't let you do this on your own."

--

"Fifteen motels, Lucas, _fifteen_!" Brooke sighed angrily, "and none of them have seen either of them. I didn't even know we have fifteen motels… and I think a cockroach stowed away with us."

"Not all of them were that bad." He tried.

"Lucas, I wouldn't even let my worst enemy spent a night in that place. Besides, Nathan does have _some _standards. He may be a teenage boy but he knows his hygiene and I doubt he'd even _let_ Haley come within three feet of those places. The last one was the worst. Did you see the way that motel guy was looking at me? I feel all violated." Brooke made a face and pushed away the less-than-pleasant memory.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't particularly fond of that either," Lucas muttered. "So I guess we're going to check out your dad's beach house?"

"Sure," she sighed, "but if they're not there then I guess we'll have to give up and just wait for them to come home or the police to find them. I can't think of anywhere else where they might have gone."

"Hang in there, Brooke," he told her as he patted her knee reassuringly, "We'll get there."

Mayor Scott's beach house was one of the biggest on the small stretch of Tree Hill beach. It was also the prime location for many post-game parties, hosted by Brooke and Nathan during basketball season – and even out of basketball season. Lucas himself had only really attended a handful, and mostly because he was on the team. He didn't really enjoy himself all that much but found that he could at least bond with his teammates.

He noticed that Brooke usually hung around with her brother, Haley and Jake. They seemed to just keep to themselves most of the time despite organizing the parties. It was mostly for everyone else's benefit rather than theirs.

The beach house was different now that Lucas was viewing it in the daylight. It was nicely tucked away from the more popular parts of the beach but during the parties, it was flooded with their classmates for the night. It was only in the daytime that Lucas could fully appreciate the beach house. When there wasn't loud hip-hop music blaring out, or cups of beer strewn on the floors, or people whooping and yelling. The beach house was definitely a place you could relax.

Brooke ran up the steps of the beach house and tried the handle. Failing that, she ran her hands on the top of the doorframe and sighed when she couldn't find anything.

"No key?" Lucas asked and when Brooke began to smile, he frowned. "Isn't that a bad thing?"

"They must have come here. The key is always up there. Last time we had a party, I put it up there myself. They must be here!" she told him. She rang the doorbell but there was no reply.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Lucas, I'm sure. They have to be here. They might think it's my parents or something and hiding." She peered through the windows and gasped. "There are dishes on the dishrack!"

"How do we get in?" he asked.

"My mom told me where the other key was hidden," Brooke replied as she trailed her hands underneath the third windowsill before she found the extra key. Lucas waited for her to use the metal object to unlock the door and they let themselves in. Brooke instantly ran through the beach house calling their names and looking into every room.

Lucas did the same, albeit less hastily, still awed by the sheer size of the beach house. It looked much bigger when it didn't have almost a hundred students swarming around.

"They're not here!" Brooke cried from the furthest bedroom, "His room is still made."

"Brooke, come in here!" Lucas called as he entered the master bedroom.

"Lucas, you can't go in there – it's my mom and dad's room." She warned, though she followed him inside. "Nathan knows not to go in the…" she stopped as she stood next to Lucas, seeing what he saw.

"I think Nathan broke the rules," Lucas commented as they looked on at the unmade bed. "You were right, they _were _here – unless, of course, your mom and dad have been sneaking in."

"Ew, thank you for that image," Brooke made a face before sitting down on the bed. "So where are they now?"

"Your mom and dad?"

"Nathan and Haley," Brooke sighed.

"On the bright side, this means they spent the night here and so maybe they only left half an hour ago or something. Maybe we can still catch them up… wherever they've gone."

"And if they're across state lines?" Brooke questioned.

"Then the police can find them and bring them back. They're seventeen." He reminded her. "Come on, we'll do another sweep around town and then I'll take you home." Brooke gave a defeated nod and stood up off the bed before her eyes grew big and she stopped.

"Wait!" she cried as she looked intently at the bedside table.

"What is it?" Lucas asked, wondering what it was that the girl was so interested in. She held up a notepad that had been sitting on the table. Lucas blinked at her.

"It's a message!" she explained, "A clue!"

"It's a blank piece of paper," Lucas replied, "unless it's written in invisible ink…"

"Can't you see?" she thrust the 'clue' in his face, and sure enough, Lucas could make out faint indents.

"What is that? A phone number?" He was going to inspect it closer but she snatched it away as she rifled through the drawers for a pencil.

"A number, an address, nuclear missile codes… who cares? This might be our ticket to finding them!" she finally found a small pencil and began rubbing the lead gently across it. "I saw this in 'CSI' once," she said before stopping.

"Found anything?" Lucas peered over her shoulder.

"No, it's just some Sudoku working outs. Haley loves them," she sighed as she tossed the notebook dejectedly aside, "I really thought this was…"

"I know," Lucas sat down next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, letting her rest her head against it. Though he never said it, he too was hoping that it could have helped find the missing teenagers. "What do you want to do now?" he asked after some time. "We could go back down to the Rivercourt… maybe check out the motels again?"

She shook her head and let out a weak shake of the head. "I just want to stay here," she sighed, "Forget about it all. I'm so tired, Lucas. The whole day has just been spent worrying about them and trying to find them. If nothing else, I just want to know that they're okay… they _have_ to be okay." She started to descend back into tears again.

"Shhh," Lucas hugged her and tried to calm her down. He glanced at the clock on the dresser. "Look, it's a little past eight – we can go home and let the police take over. They have the resources to track them down and get them back. It shouldn't be all on you. You're not the one to blame here."

"I don't want to go home," she told him, "I just want to stay here." Brooke removed herself from his hold and fell onto the bed, positioning herself so her head was on the pillow. Lucas helped tuck her into the covers.

"You should sleep," he agreed. She got hold of his wrist.

"Will you-" she began but he nodded.

"Yeah, I'll stay with you." She smiled at his agreement and felt a touch more content than she was before. At least _someone_ hadn't abandoned her.

"Hey, Lucas, I'm really sorry for being a bitch to you before."

He feigned comprehension, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You know, a few months ago when I broke off our deal. I kind of missed you."

"We had known each other barely a week," he reminded her as he sat on top of the covers beside her.

"Yeah, but I still missed you even though I was mad at you." She shrugged, "So I'm sorry."

Lucas didn't reply, instead he said: "I'll stay awake just in case your mom calls, okay?" she nodded and it was only a few moments before she fell asleep.

--

Lucas awoke three hours later to the sound of ringing. He glanced at the still sleeping Brooke as her answered his cell. "Hello?"

"Lucas, do you have any idea what time it is? It's almost curfew and you haven't been home all day except to dump your gym bag in front of the door. Where are you?" Peyton's voice was shriller than usual.

"I'm okay," he whispered back.

"Why are you whispering?" she asked, "Did you know that the police have been down at the Scott house? Nathan's missing or something."

"Yeah, I know. That's actually why I haven't been around. Brooke and I have been looking for them all day. We're at their beach house."

"What are you doing now?" his sister questioned.

"I _was_ sleeping. It's been kind of a long day." He rubbed sleep from his eyes.

"Why don't you come home and sleep?"

"I can't leave Brooke," Lucas said.

"Of course you won't." Sensing the tone in Peyton's voice, he tried to explain.

"She's really upset, Peyton; she's been crying…"

"Yeah, and she also cried when Tim split mustard on her favorite sweater last month."

"Peyton!" he hissed back at her.

"Urgh, fine, but you're coming home tomorrow morning."

"Deal," he sighed as he hung up, just in time to see Brooke's eyes flutter open.

"Who was that?" she asked groggily.

"Just Peyton. You should go back to sleep."

"I can't sleep… I'm just hoping this whole thing is some sort of whacked-out nightmare."

"I'm sorry that it's not," he apologized. She nodded sadly and reached up to place a kiss on his cheek.

"Thanks for doing this."

"It's fin-" he was cut off when she kissed his lips. He pulled away instantly, "Brooke, you shouldn't do this. You're upset, you're hurting…"

Before she could even reply, there was a loud noise from the living room of the beach house.

"Stay here," Lucas instructed as he climbed off the bed and reached for a golf club from the bag in the corner of the room. Brooke sat up on the bed as she watched Lucas creep to the bedroom door and stand outside it for a few moments before twisting the doorknob slowly and opening the door. Brooke bit her lip as he disappeared out into the living room.

Lucas held the golf club tightly as he looked for any moving shadows. He heard faint voices and some thing in the far corner. Instead of trying to attack them, he flicked on the light to reveal the culprits.

"What are you doing here?" Nathan asked when he saw Lucas standing by the door of the master bedroom.

"Nathan! Haley!" Brooke emerged from the bedroom and launched herself into the arms of her brother and best friend. "You're here! We've been looking everywhere for you."

Nathan's eyes were still fixed on Lucas. "You were looking together?" he questioned.

Brooke looked between them, "Does it matter, Nathan? You're here now; we can go home and tell mom and dad to call of the police search."

"The police were looking for us?" Haley asked.

"Yeah," Brooke nodded, "I've been going crazy trying to find you – we went to all the motels! Where were you guys?" she asked.

Haley and Nathan looked at each other. "We were going to wait until tomorrow morning to tell everyone…" she began, "Nathan and I decided to get married."

Brooke's ecstatic smile dropped instantly.

"Wait… what?"

**To Be Continued…**


	8. Heartache To Heartache We Stand

**Chapter Eight: Heartache To Heartache We Stand**

Brooke blinked back at them while they hopefully awaited her reaction.

"You can't be married…" she said, "You guys are only seventeen. No-one with half a brain cell would let you guys get married."

Haley nodded, "That's true. We couldn't find anyone to marry us so we just decided to get engaged!" she flashed them her engagement ring that sparkled on her finger.

Far from being excited and wanting to see her best friend's ring, Brooke sighed. "So you guys just decided to run off and get married? How long have you been planning this?"

"We weren't planning it. After Nathan turned up at my house after arguing with your dad, we went out on our date and ended up here at the beach house for the night. Then Nathan proposed and we thought eloping would be so romantic – except we spent all day trying to find someone to marry us but they wouldn't. Not even when we went out of town. So we just ended up looking for engagement rings. We were going to announce it tomorrow morning." Haley explained, still giddy over the events of the last few hours.

Brooke sighed in relief, "Okay, so you guys didn't totally just screw up everything. I meant, you guys getting married?" she scoffed, "I hardly see it."

"What?" Nathan frowned, "Brooke, we're getting married."

"But you're seventeen."

"Not for long. We turn eighteen in September –which is only four months away- and Haley's birthday is in December. We'll be married before the New Year."

"You're serious about this?" Brooke couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, we are," Nathan confirmed before he fixed his eyes on Lucas, "What are you doing here with _him_?"

"_He_ was looking for you. _He_ has been helping me try and find you guys." Brooke told them. Lucas grew uncomfortable underneath Nathan's steely glare, despite Brooke's best attempts to defend him.

"I'm going to go call your parents so they know and can call of the search." He excused himself from the three and went to place the call.

"Brooke… you are happy for us, aren't you?" Haley questioned.

"Happy that you and my brother put me through so much misery and worry so you could both go off and try and get hitched without breathing a word to anyone?"

"It's not like we planned it."

"I can see that!"

"Why are you being such a bi-" Nathan was cut off by Lucas returning into the room.

"Um, your parents want you home right now." He told them.

"Okay," Brooke nodded glancing at the two. "Lucas, I'm riding with you," she said as she left the beach house, Nathan and Haley following hand-in-hand, and Lucas being the last to leave.

-----

"You okay?" Lucas asked Brooke as they drove his car back to her house. She hadn't said anything since they'd sat in the car and it was clear that she wasn't too thrilled with her brother's news.

"Am I still dreaming?" Brooke asked, "Or is this some kind of a cosmic joke? Have I been giving out bad vibes lately? Did I forget to give money to the blind? What did I do for this to happen to me?"

"Brooke, relax, they're here. They're safe. They're just…"

"Engaged? Throwing away their lives? It's the same thing."

"Look, I don't see anything really wrong with it. They're not married. Being married at seventeen would be more throwing away their lives. This is-"

"Still completely crazy! I think I liked it better when they were still missing."

"Brooke, don't say that. You know you don't mean it. I know it took you by surprise, but you never know… they really could be in love."

"And I could be Queen Latifah," she shot back as she climbed out of the car when they pulled up to the Scott house. Karen and Dan were already at the front door when both cars pulled up and waiting for their children to arrive. Brooke barely glanced back to see Nathan's car pull up behind theirs before she went to hug her mother. Lucas didn't follow, but rather let them have their family reunion. Nathan and Haley went up to the house together and shut the front door behind them. Lucas stood outside by his car for a few moments before walking across the road to his own house.

He'd spent the day with Brooke when she needed help after two months or barely any contact. He knew he was wrong to expect any sort of reward or change in their relationship, but after their 'moment' in the beach house before Nathan and Haley had returned, he had begun to think that maybe it could. Then again, it could have been simply a spur-of-the-moment thing and because she'd been so upset.

Whatever it was, it told Lucas that the ball was in Brooke's court.

-----

"Are you guys okay? Do you want a sandwich? I have some pizza in the oven." Karen asked as she fussed over her son and his girlfriend.

"We're fine, Mom," Nathan said taking a seat in the kitchen. His father hadn't said anything to them as yet. "Um, can we talk to you?"

"I'm going to bed!" Brooke announced suddenly, removing herself from the inevitably explosive discussion that would take place.

She had barely made it into her room when she heard a loud: "You did _what_?" emerge from her father. Having no-one but Jake to call, Brooke picked up her phone and dialed his number.

"Hey," she said, "did I wake you?" she asked.

"No, I was already awake with Jenny. She's teething. Why are you calling me so late? Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Who can sleep?" Brooke sighed heavily.

"Did you find Nathan and Haley?" Jake asked.

"Oh yeah, we found them. Get this, they're engaged."

"Are you serious?" Jake had to stop himself from crying out as he was just getting Jenny off to bed. "What in the world…?"

"I know, right?" Brooke was happy to have found someone who was on her side. "They have some wild notion that once they turn eighteen, they're going to get married and live happily ever after!"

"It's kind of romantic, actually."

"It's kind of stupid, that's what it is." Brooke said.

"You don't sound too thrilled." Jake surmised.

"Would you be?" she questioned as she heard her dad screaming at Nathan. She closed the door so all that could be heard were stern muffles.

"Your dad sounds pissed. Maybe we should throw them an engagement party or something to let them know we're okay with it." He suggested.

"Why? I'm not okay about it. I doubt Haley's parents will be either."

"Why are you so upset? Didn't you want them to get married?" Jake asked. "Just a few days ago, you were telling me how great it would be if they got married so you and Haley could really be sisters and you could spoil their kids!"

"I didn't mean _now_. I thought that in five years time or something after high school and college that they'd maybe, _possibly _consider it. But they're seventeen. It's not... I always thought that Haley would rush into our house – because we'd live together in a fantastic apartment in New York – and tell me that she was engaged, and we'd be so ecstatic and have a huge party. Then I'd plan a killer bridal shower, be her maid of honor and plan everything about the wedding with her in precise detail!"

"It doesn't mean you can't do it," Jake reassured, "You can still be her maid of honor and plan a bridal shower and help with the wedding."

"At seventeen? It wouldn't even be legal for them to have champagne at their reception. Besides, I don't like it." Brooke sighed. "This sucks."

"Brooke, I honestly don't know why you're so upset. They're not married yet."

"Yet being the operative word. They've been dating, what, three months?" she asked, "I've heard about these types of marriages. Getting married after some whirlwind romance and breaking up before the wedding cake has gone stale. I don't want that to happen to them."

"You're scared they'll break up?"

"Of course. They don't know enough about each other. Haley's never lived with Nathan. She doesn't know how annoying his snoring his or how messy his closet is. And don't get me started on how much porn he has stored on his computer!" Jake chuckled on the other end, "And when they break-up, I'll be torn between my brother and my best friend and I don't want that."

"They could still break up," he reminded her, "What's the difference if they break up when they're dating, or when their engaged or when they're married?"

"Because it'll just be messier and they'll end up hating each other. This marriage is going to be a disaster."

"Okay, before you start drawing battle lines just stop and think for a moment. What if it works out? Haley's not stupid."

"And Nathan?"

"Well Nathan's just stupid… but he wouldn't do anything like this unless he was sure. Haley's the longest relationship he's had since sixth grade. Maybe you should just put some faith into it. Anyway, if they realize that getting engaged was the wrong decision, then they can end things then. Just be glad they're not already married." Jake's voice turned into a whisper near the end as Jenny stirred in her sleep. Brooke could hear Jake trying to coax her back to sleep.

"Thank god we have laws in this country. Did you know that, in some countries, kids can get married at the age of five, Jake? Five! If that we true then you and I would be celebrating our twelve year anniversary."

"Isn't that like iron or something?" Jake asked.

"Whatever, but this whole thing is a mistake! They don't seem to get that. You should have seen the way Haley was grinning. It's like the time we took her to see that Johnny Depp film."

"She got that doe-eyed look and started plotting out how she'd track him down and get him to marry her?" Jake questioned.

"Yeah, except she _had _tracked down Nathan and they _are _going to get married. Jake, come home now!" she begged, needing someone to help her get through this.

"I can't really do that right now, Brooke, but I'll be back later tonight." He told her earnestly. "Speaking of, it's kind of late and Jenny just got to sleep. Mind if I call you tomorrow when I get home? You can fill me in on any new developments." Brooke sighed on the other end.

"Sure, Jake. Thanks for being awake and give Jenny a kiss from me." She told him before they said their goodbyes and she hung up the phone, still feeling upset by the whole 'engagement' ordeal but feeling slightly less despondent after talking to Jake. Jake was the rock who would help her get through this and knock some sense into Nathan and Haley. She was sure of it.

Finally the yelling ceased and Brooke heard footsteps storm past her room and Nathan's bedroom door shut loudly before the front door opened and closed, and a car engine started up and drove away. She waited fifteen minutes before deciding it was in her best interests to see where everybody stood in the situation and whether anything had changed. Brooke heard her father slam the door to his office – obviously he didn't want to be disturbed.

She knocked lightly on Nathan's door before letting herself in without needing a reply.

"Hey," she said as she leant on the doorframe, noticing that he was without Haley "Where's 'the fiancée'?" Though she didn't mean to, it came out condescending; something Nathan didn't appreciate.

"Mom took her home." He sounded upset. She sighed. "Did you know they're trying to get us to call the whole thing off?"

"Nathan, you do realize that this isn't something like you breaking curfew – you ran away to get married."

"But we didn't get married, did we? We're just engaged. Why does everyone think it's a bad thing?" Nathan's phone beeped loudly and he read the message on it before tossing the phone on his bed.

"Because seventeen year olds don't get married. Unless, of course, they're child stars who – let's face it- are pretty screwed up anyway." Nathan ignored her as he pulled out his suitcase from under the bed and began filling it. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"Away."

"Oh, so you're running away again? Why are you going to get engaged to Peyton too?"

"Just shut it, Brooke." It simply made Brooke continue.

"Do you know how childish this is? Running away because Mom and Dad are mad at you for getting engaged?"

"No, I'm running because nobody seems to understand."

Brooke scoffed, "Understand? Nathan, you and Haley are in _high school_. Neither of you are even legal to get married let alone rent a house and live there. You're not husband material – not at this age!"

"You know of all people, I thought _you'd_ understand. You're my sister, Brooke, and Haley is your best friend. You'd think that'd count for something."

"I know, Nate, and normally I'd be on your side but this is crazy!"

"I thought you would have my back on this but you're just like the rest of them."

"I'm trying to stop you from making a big mistake. I love the fact that you and Haley think you're in love but... you're not ready. None of us are ready."

"_I'm _ready. You think that I didn't think about this? You think that I don't know what this means? If you're not with us, then you're against us."

"Why do we even have to pick sides?" Brooke threw her hands in the air.

"If we did - whose side would you pick?" his question was met by an uncomfortable silence. "I thought so. You know, I've covered every single one of your mistakes because you asked me to. I've lied to Mom and Dad so you could get away with breaking curfew, or the boys you dated, and all those nights out with Nikki. I did all that for you and this is how you repay me? You can't even help me out this once when I really need you?"

"Nathan, it's because I don't support your decision."

"So? I didn't support any of your decisions but I still stood by you. You think I liked seeing you come home with Nikki drunk off your ass?" He zipped up his suitcase and dragged it towards his door where Brooke blocked his exit.

"Where are you going to go?" she asked.

"Haley's house. We'll stay there since everyone here won't support us." He didn't look at her during his reply.

"What makes you think Jim and Lydia will?" she asked, though she already knew inside that Haley's parents were much more flexible and carefree than her own. Nathan tried to move past her. "Don't go."

"Move, Brooke. You made your choice and you just lost your brother and your best friend."

"It's not like that!" Brooke protested.

"No, it is like that. You're clearly not on our side so pretend that our relationship means something. If you really were my sister, you'd find a way to at least do that." Brooke sighed helplessly as she moved aside. "But don't worry…" Nathan said as he walked past her, "I'm sure Lucas will fill our shoes. You seem to be pretty chummy with him. Hey, maybe Peyton can be your best friend now!"

Brooke fought the urge to kick him or scream or something to express her feelings towards the two of them. Instead, she was forced to watch her brother stand in the hallway as their mother returned. She looked a little surprised to find him standing with his suitcase by the front door. Brooke watched the short exchange in which Karen demanded to know what was happening and try to stop her son – but eventually relent as he walked out of the door and out of their lives. Karen then rushed to her husband's office and the two began a discussion in furious tones.

For the second time tonight, Brooke felt utterly alone. With the argument with Nathan and the argument currently going on between her parents, she knew that whatever happened next couldn't change what had happened tonight. This incident had already changed everybody and everything. Brooke would just have to wait and see where she stood – and who stood by her.

-----

It took all of Brooke's energy to get herself out of bed on Monday morning. The rest of the Sunday had gone by uneventfully. Well, not uneventfully. In fact, Brooke woke up late in the afternoon to find her dad locked away in his office with specific instructions not to be disturbed and her mother working at the café all day. She hadn't heard anything from Nathan, Haley or Jake.

She had tried calling Jake but everything went straight to voicemail, and by the evening, Brooke had started to worry. That was until, of course, the front door opened at eight in the evening and Jake and Nathan appeared.

"What are you doing here?" she had asked. Nathan had not replied but disappeared into his room, leaving Jake to try and explain.

"They're coming with me," Jake said. "Haley's parents weren't exactly much supportive either, and since my parents won some month-long cruise while they were in Florida, they're going to stay with me for a while."

"You're siding with them?" Brooke asked, "I thought you said that you were with me on this!"

"I didn't say I was siding with anyone."

"But you're taking them in!"

"Because they're my friends, Brooke. I'm kind of neutral on this." Jake insisted.

"That's not being neutral! Neutral is sticking a white flag on your door."

"That's surrendering." Jake commented but Brooke glared at him. "Listen, Brooke, I called Nathan and he filled me in on what happened. Right now, they need more help than any of us. I know how it feels to have a family divided over something that happened," he thought of what had happened when Jenny had first been left to him, "and I know it's tough. Fortunately my parents supported me but Nathan and Haley don't have that. They can't legally afford a house either so this seems the best way. This way they're not too deep into something that hey can't get out of if they need to later." Despite Jake's reasons to justify his actions, Brooke wasn't convinced or happy.

"So you're just going to help him leave?"

"We're not packing up his entire room. Just getting a few more clothes. Oh, um, Haley wants to talk to you. She feels really bad."

"Well let her feel bad," Brooke snapped back. "I don't want to talk to her, or Nathan, or you."

"Brook-" Jake began but was cut off when Brooke slammed the door in his face. He didn't try to talk to her again and simply went to help Nathan with his things. Brooke watched the two leave the residence with two more suitcases and drive away. She caught Lucas' eyes watching them leave too. He offered her a small smile but she wasn't in the mood. Her three best friends in the whole world had just left her.

So on the Monday Brooke had every reason not to get out of bed. But over the last day or so, Karen's temper had begun to run short. She'd yell at Brooke for reasons such not washing one dish in the sink or snap at her husband for keeping the television on 'too loud'. The minute Karen had told Brooke to get her ass out of bed; Brooke had done so despite having little reason to go to school. Two homework assignments hadn't even been started and she hadn't studied for the chemistry test first thing. Not to mention, they had practice that afternoon but she wasn't feeling very cheery.

Brooke had left relatively early for school – deciding that maybe hiding away in the library would force her to do some homework. It didn't work.

Especially with the arrival of Haley James. Brooke immediately sank in her seat. She wasn't ready to deal with her yet. She wasn't exactly sure what she felt towards Haley now. She loved her, sure, but wasn't exactly thrilled with what she and Nathan had done.

"Hey, Brooke," Haley said as she came up to her friend. "How are you?"

Brooke shrugged, "I don't know. How's Jake's?"

"Listen, I know we kind of sprang it on you, but it was supposed to be a surprise. We knew that people would have thought we were crazy if we told them beforehand."

"You would have been right about that," Brooke sighed as she pretended to get on with some work. Haley looked over her shoulder.

"You studying for the chemistry test?" she asked.

"Trying to," Brooke said curtly.

"Brooke, I don't understand why you're acting like this. You were always our biggest supporter. Remember the incessant squealing?" she joked to try and draw out a smile from the girl. But none came.

"That was when you were dating, Haley, don't even get me started on your 'engagement'." The air-quotes caused Haley to self-consciously touch her engagement ring.

"I thought this would be something you'd be excited about. Your brother and your best friend? Who could ask for more?"

"You don't get it, Haley. I wouldn't have minded if the two of you dated for a few years and _after_ college decided that you wanted to spend the rest of your lives together. You've dated for two months. I've had relationships with shoes longer than that!"

"But we're in love." Haley insisted.

"You know, for the smartest girl in school, you're _really _naïve. You might think you're in love now but what about next month? Or next year? Or when you guys go to college? There are a million other people out there; you're supposed to shop around before you buy! Who says you won't find someone else."

"I wouldn't do that to him." She shook her head, horrified at the thought.

"What if he does it to you? I know my brother, and he is loyal, but if he wants something he'll get it. You might be in love now, Haley, and you'll rush into marriage but soon you'll fight, and eventually you'll separate, and then what will happen? I'll be caught between you and I'll be the one who has to choose. I'm sorry, Haley, I love you but if it came to that -- no-one comes before my brother. Even if he and I aren't talking right now. When you split up, don't be surprised or upset when I side with him. He's just my brother."

"What makes you so sure we'll split up?" Haley asked.

"Because... he's my brother." Brooke replied almost sadly before shutting her books and walking out of the library, leaving Haley behind to ponder what she had said.

The conversation with Haley had left Brooke in a worst mood than earlier that morning, and she almost didn't hear someone calling her name until they jogged right up next to her.

"Lucas, what are you doing?" Brooke asked when he appeared next to her. His sudden appearance had frightened her.

"I was calling you but I guess you didn't hear me. Are you okay?"

"Just peachy. My brother moved in with my best friend and my other best friend and leaving me totally alone. Apparently Nathan doesn't like me anymore because I'm actually sane enough to realize this whole engagement thing is stupid."

"You can add my name to that list," Lucas said. Brooke looked at him.

"No offence, Lucas, but that doesn't really make me feel better. The whole town could think it's a stupid idea but all I care about is Nathan, Haley and Jake thinking it's a stupid idea. After all, it was their stupid idea. Well, not Jake's but-"

"I get what you mean. I was just here to tell you that if you needed me… I'm here for you." He said to her. She smiled slightly.

"Thanks. I guess I'm really sending out the 'in need of a friend' vibe, huh?"

"Well, you shouldn't be alone, and it's not going to be long before the rest of the school finds out. I just thought you might like someone to vent to or help you out. Haley and Nathan have each other and Jake, by the looks of it. You should at least have someone there with you." Lucas explained.

"That's really nice of you." Brooke admitted, "Want to walk me to chemistry? I don't like going alone."

Lucas agreed and the two walked down the hall, helping Brooke finally feel a little less alone.

**To Be Continued…**


	9. Marble Statues and Glass Dividers

_Whoops, another long delay. So sorry. I knew how this would begin and end but I wasn't sure about the middle. I hope you enjoy!_

**Chapter Nine: Marble Statues and Glass Dividers**

"Can you believe what a bitch Brooke is being?" Nathan grunted in frustration as he entered Jake's house. Placing his bag and jacket by the front door, he kicked off his shoes and walked towards his best friend, who had been trying to get Jenny off for her afternoon nap before Nathan had walked in. Jake glanced up at Nathan, trying to push down the feelings of irritation and failure when Jenny woke up again.

Nathan didn't seem to notice the looks Jake was shooting him as Jenny cried loudly. Instead, he continued.

"It's been ten days and she's still refusing to talk to us. Haley near enough had a breakdown at lunch when Brooke sat with the other cheerleaders."

"So? Brooke always sits with the cheerleaders on practice days." Jake reminded him as he rocked Jenny gently.

"Yeah, but she lets Haley sit with her. And Haley always buys Brooke lunch on practice days but today… _today_ Brooke really crossed a line." Jake looked on with interest, "Haley brought by Brooke's lunch for her, and Brooke just ignored her. She just froze her out. She's never done that to Haley." He was fuming now; angry that his sister could be so callous towards her best friend.

"You can't really blame her, Nathan," Jake told him as he gave up trying to get Jenny off to sleep. Since 'Uncle Nathan' had come to stay, Jenny had been more hyper than ever. Jenny immediately made her way towards him. Nathan grinned as he picked her up and held her.

"You're defending Brooke now? Did you hear what she did to Haley?" Nathan shook his head as he let Jenny play with his hair.

"You know, since it's your fault she's not sleeping lately, you can try putting her down for her nap. And if it doesn't work, you're the one staying up with her tonight." Jake said as he picked up some of Jenny's bits off the floor.

"I don't mind. I love this girl," Nathan said as he lightly tickled her stomach. She gurgled and tried to hit his nose. He pretended to be hurt and she giggled.

"It's not all fun and games, Nate." Jake reminded him.

"Sure it is. Jenny's always fun."

"I'm not just talking about Jenny," Jake continued, "I was talking about this. Life. Being a family."

"I know all about family. Look where I used to live." He muttered. "But that's all okay, because I live here now. Away from my dad, my mom and the ice queen." Jake slammed his fist down on the table; the loud noise causing both Jenny and Nathan to be startled. Jenny began to cry. "Whoa, what was that for?" Nathan asked as he cradled the infant.

"You don't get it, Nathan. I know you seem to be going through something right now, so maybe you've misunderstood something. I'm on Brooke's side. I think this whole engagement thing is crazy! But you are my best friend so I'm going to do whatever I can to help you and Haley. I care far too much about you and Hales for you to think that the world doesn't understand you and run off again. But you have to see that I care a lot about Brooke too, and I've hurt her by offering you a place to stay while you sort this situation out. Brooke now thinks that all of her best friends have just left her on her own and that's wrong."

"So… why are you helping us?" Nathan asked.

"Nathan, when Jenny was left at my doorstep, I had to grow up fast. Faster than any teenager should. You were there, you should know. I had a tough time keeping up with school; I had expenses like diapers and clothes; I had to quit the football team. I may never get to go to college because I can't leave Jenny in day care all day and I can't afford it. We have no football team to get me a scholarship and my grades suck! If it wasn't for Haley helping me, I'd have flunked out by now. Jenny is my whole future and she's all I need to care about. You and Haley are far too talented and smart to be held back. What happens when you decide to go to go to a different college? You're not going to give up your basketball scholarship for an Ivy League school, and Haley doesn't deserve to settle for anything less. Maybe you'll be fortunate enough to find a compromise somewhere but marriage _is_ sacrifice. You're too young to be making sacrifices like that."

"You made sacrifices for Jenny and you're okay. You're managing."

Jake sighed, "Look, you're the only one who knew that I was going to marry Nikki when I found out she was pregnant. That was before she left, and you knew that I couldn't trust her. _You're_ the one that told me that _I_ was too young to make a huge sacrifice like that. And yes, I made a sacrifice for Jenny, but at least it's not a mistake like marrying Nikki. Can you imagine what it'd be like now? Nikki and I would be in some run down apartment somewhere with a screaming kid and we'd hate each other. I know we hate each other now, but at least there wouldn't be a divorce and Jenny wouldn't be in the middle of it. She's not here now. Jenny doesn't know Nikki, she knows me. Sure, marriage is a lot different to raising a kid but it's just as hard. Maybe harder because at the end of the day you could end up hating each other and breaking your heart in the process… and I don't want that for you."

Nathan listened in silence and dipped his head, letting a fully recovered Jenny down on the floor.

"You really think we're making a mistake?"

"Yes, but I didn't want to be like all the others telling you that. I wanted the two of you to figure that out but it seems like it's not getting through to you…"

"Jake, I know you're concerned but I love Haley. I'm serious about marrying her."

"And that's all good and well if you know what you're getting into." He reiterated. "I have no objections to the two of you staying here, but please just do me a favor and at least cut Brooke some slack. It's not been easy on her and I hate having her think that she's alone."

"But she's not alone. In case you haven't noticed, Lucas has nicely replaced all of us."

"So you're going to rag on Lucas now? Personally I'm glad Brooke has someone to lean on. She's not talking to any of us and, believe me, I've tried. We've all hurt her."

"If she had been a little more understanding…"

"She's just trying to look out for you in her own way," Jake defended his friend, "and don't hate her for it. It's even worse than you and Haley hating each other. You're Brooke and Nathan Scott. You're family."

-----

"Mom, I'm not going to be here for dinner." Brooke announced as she walked in. Her mother gave her a glance from the kitchen.

"And why are you forcing me to have a dinner alone with your father?" Karen half-joked.

"Because I'm going to have dinner at Lucas' house tonight," she explained, "and besides, with Dad sulking lately, dinner just isn't as fun as it used to be." Karen gave a knowing sound of agreement as she sliced some onions.

"I can't argue with that," she said, "so you can be excused."

"Thank you, Mom."

"You've been spending a lot of time with Lucas." Brooke shrugged.

"I guess. He's just really been there since…" she trailed off, letting it hang in the air, "besides, he's pretty good with the whole book-smart thing so my grades could be going up."

"One can only hope," Karen sighed somewhat melodramatically.

"Ha, ha!" Brooke replied dryly. "What's for dinner here anyway?"

"Oh, you know, just," Karen sighed, "I was going to make prime ribs for tonight but…"

"That's Nathan's favorite meal," Brooke finished off quietly. She glanced at the empty dinner table.

"So I just decided to make a casserole. I'm not feeling up to anything inventive." Karen explained. Since Nathan had left the house, everything had changed. Her parents were much more subdued, dinner was never very exciting, no-one really talked to one another anymore. At least Karen was trying to make an effort, but Brooke could tell that it was upsetting her more and more each day Nathan didn't come home.

In the last four days, there had been many arguments erupting from her parents. Dan would always say _something_ bad about Nathan and Karen would jump in to defend her son – causing arguments over family loyalty on whose fault it was. Brooke tried to stay out of them. She found more and more reasons to stay in her room or out of the house – usually meeting up with fellow cheerleaders or Lucas.

Her parents had actually taken to sleeping in different bedrooms. Karen took the master bedroom and her father either slept in his office or in the guest bedroom down the hall. Nathan's bedroom door hadn't been opened since he'd left.

Brooke couldn't help but hate him a little. Because of his insane matrimonial plans, the whole family was falling apart and he didn't seem to care. She'd seen him plenty of times in school but he had never stopped to ask how they were. Not once.

At least Haley tried to. Actually Brooke was tired of her former best friend's attempts to talk to her. She was everywhere. Sometimes she wished that Haley would take a break from trying to talk to her and Nathan would just try.

She had caught Jake's glance a few times but ignored him completely. Jake had tried calling everyday but she refused to answer the phone and talk to the person who'd helped her brother move out.

Thank goodness for Lucas.

"Well, I'll be at Lucas' if you need me," Brooke told her mother.

"What time will you be back?" she asked.

"I don't know. I might stay over." From Karen's wary reaction, Brooke sighed, "We're just friends, Mom. I actually kind of need some of those right now."

"It's not really that. I just thought you didn't like Peyton much. They're twins, right?" Brooke nodded.

"Yeah, well I've kind of managed to avoid Peyton's comments about it. I know she doesn't like me very much but Lucas does his best to keep us apart. I don't know… maybe when this all blows over, maybe we can all be friends."

_That is if it _does _blow over._

"Well have fun, honey, and don't stay up too late. It's only Wednesday and still a school night."

"Got it," Brooke called as she left the house.

-----

"Ta da!" Haley announced brightly as she presented her new roommates with dinner.

"Hales, I love you but this like the fourth time we've had mac and cheese for dinner this week." Nathan observed. Jake nodded.

"I know but my culinary attempts only really extend that far. Besides, all we had was pizza the last week. Aren't you guys sick of pizza?"

"We're men, Haley, we _never _get sick of pizza." Nathan told her.

She sighed and gave up, "Fine, tomorrow we'll have pizza. Although I sincerely doubt it's a healthy appetite for us all."

"And macaroni and cheese is?" Jake challenged as he fed a small piece to Jenny. She ate it up greedily before letting out a small burp and giggling.

"Jenny seems to agree," Haley replied with a satisfied smile.

"Jenny also seems to think that Nathan is a superhero but he's never worn tights," he turned to Nathan, "have you?" Nathan shook his head quickly.

"Well until one of us learns how to cook or finds the number for that new Chinese place, we're stuck with pizza and mac and cheese." Haley said as the four tucked into their meals.

-----

"Wow, you seem to know your way around a kitchen," Brooke seemed impressed as Lucas whipped up a meal for the two of them.

"With your dad away most of the year, you learn to be more self-sufficient. Although I have to confess that I had help from a Naked Chef." Brooke made a face at his comment.

"Ew."

Lucas laughed, "No, he's a celebrity chef."

"They actually let them show him cooking naked?" she looked horrified now.

"He's fully clothed, Brooke, it's like a nickname."

"Weird nickname."

"You've seriously never heard of or seen Jamie Oliver, the Naked Chef?" he asked.

"No. Cooking shows aren't really my thing. Unless of course, it's Johnny Depp cooking naked." She wiggled her eyebrows up and down suggestively, earning another laugh from Lucas.

"Well, I can't promise you that, but hopefully you'll be as impressed," he said as he put the food on their plates. He glanced at her quickly, "You know, you can talk to me about Nathan. You don't have to keep pretending it's not bothering you."

"What makes you think it's bothering me?" she shrugged.

"Because right now it's all you can think about. I know you're wondering if they're sitting down for dinner and what they're eating." He replied. She looked away uncomfortably. "It's easy to see that past your smiles and your jokes, you're really hurting. You ignore them at school all the time and let them see how angry you are. You can do the same when you're with me."

"So you're saying you'd rather hear me bitch and whine about them?" she questioned, "because most people don't."

"I'd rather you be honest with me. I know you like to protect yourself and I'm here to tell you that sometimes it's okay to let your guard down. Unlike those cheerleaders you call 'friends', I won't secretly make fun of you behind your back." She seemed to agree when she gave a small nod. Brooke took the plate Lucas offered to her and they made their way into the living room.

"Hold on," Lucas said as he got up off the couch, "I'll just go get some pepper," he put his plate down on the coffee table and ventured into the kitchen, leaving Brooke alone in the living room.

The front door opened and Peyton strolled in; hungry and tired from work.

"Something smells ni…" she stopped short when she saw Brooke sitting in front of the TV eating dinner. She gave a small, if awkward, wave to the blonde.

"Hey." Peyton forced a smile on her face. "Uh, Lucas is in the kitchen," she explained. Peyton nodded and walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, hi Peyton. I thought you were working late at the music store." Lucas said as he saw his sister enter at only seven o'clock in the evening.

"Obviously. Mind telling me why Brooke Davis is in my living room?"

"I invited her over for dinner," he explained as if it was nothing at all.

"I can see that by the way she's eating our food," she glanced around the kitchen, "You cooked for her? You hardly ever like to cook." He shrugged.

"I thought I'd make the effort."

"Just because all her friends finally had enough of her doesn't mean she's going to like you." Peyton commented.

"Have a little compassion, Peyton. She's lost everyone she cared about. She needs us right now."

"Well, we don't need her." Peyton shot back. She helped herself to two servings of the dinner plus a slice of cake that Lucas had bought for him and Brooke. "I'll be eating upstairs." As his sister walked off, Lucas rolled his eyes and went back to Brooke.

"Is she okay?" she asked as she heard Peyton storming up the stairs.

"She's fine, she just had a long day," Lucas explained as he held out the pepper mill, "Pepper?"

-----

It wasn't too late before Brooke got home. Her mom was already in bed and her dad was working late in his office – again. She could expect to be left alone. Dinner at Lucas' went off relatively okay, despite Peyton's unwelcoming attitude. Brooke couldn't really ask for much more than that. She knew Peyton's feelings towards her and she could understand how Peyton might feel threatened. But Lucas had invited her over; she hadn't invited herself.

Collapsing on her bed, she listened to the silence that filled the house and began to miss Nathan's loud music that usually boomed from his room. Though she used to yell at him to turn it down, she found herself wanting to hear it. She wondered if Nathan played the music at Jake's. Of course not, Jake had Jenny. Then she began to miss the little girl.

She groaned. Why did bad things always happen to her.

At least they couldn't get much worse.

The doorbell rang and she sighed, wondering who was at the door so late at night.

Opening it, she couldn't have prepared herself for who stood in front of her.

"Hey friend," came a chirpy reply. Brooke's eyes narrowed and she clenched her jaw.

"Nikki."

**To Be Continued…**


	10. Go Down Like A Lead Balloon

**I totally suck. I suck more than the OTH writers. I really do. I moved back up to university and our internet still isn't sorted. As well as that, they've decided since we're sophmores now, they want to give us 535908201 times more reading to do every week... just so we learn something. Anyway, here's the next chapter g**

**Chapter 10: Go Down Like A Lead Balloon**

Brooke's icy glare remained fixed on her former _former_-best friend as she stood on her front porch. "What are you doing here?" she demanded, trying to let Nikki know she wasn't welcome there.

"What does it look like? Can't a friend drop by and see her best friend in the entire world?" Nikki grinned wildly.

"Friend's can… but you're not one of mine."

"Ouch," Nikki replied, "I see you haven't lost your touch. Good going."

"Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"Well, you don't call, you don't write… I was starting to think you didn't care." The other brunette looked as if she was having fun. Like they were back to teasing each other like before.

"I think you have that the other way around, Nikki. I _did_ care up until the point you abandoned Jake and Jenny."

"Speaking of my dear old beau; who's that he's shacking up with? I dropped by there earlier only to see some auburn girl with a really ugly poncho holding my baby. He moved on fast."

"Well it's been almost two years." Nikki gasped.

"Wow, that long already?" she shook her head almost ruefully, "So how's my little munchkin?"

"Getting along fine without a deadbeat mom, that's for sure."

"You really should keep an eye on that tongue of yours, Brookie; it could get you in a lot of trouble." Nikki attempted to cross the doorway, only for Brooke to block her path.

"Not in as much trouble you've caused." Brooke stepped down off her porch and drove Nikki a few steps back, "Look, I don't even care what you're doing here. Just go because nobody wants you here."

"Fine, just help me get Jenny and I'll leave. I'm not letting my baby be raised by some other woman."

"Jenny's not complaining. Besides, Haley's babysat for her many times."

"Haley?" Nikki frowned, "You don't mean Haley _James, _do you? That apple pie-baking tutor is trying to replace me? Jake moved onto her?" she fumed.

"Jake and Haley are just friends, Nikki. She's helping him out since you _weren't _there." Brooke decided not refrain from telling Nikki the entire situation. She didn't wasn't particularly in the mood, especially since it was Nikki – who'd twist the story into making her think it was her own fault.

"I guess asking you if I can crash on your couch tonight is going to be a little bit of a stretch." Nikki sighed, knowing that if she wanted to find a way back into her life, it wouldn't be tonight. "I'll be back," she promised, "so you'd better get used to seeing me" she chirped again before slinking away into the darkness. Brooke stood on the porch a few moments longer than she needed to – just to be sure she was really gone. Letting out a deep sigh, she rubbed her forehead; wondering just why things had just gotten so bad so quickly and how to get out of it.

Glancing up at the house opposite hers, she noticed Lucas watching from his bedroom window. The silent look he gave told her that she wasn't going to be alone. And that he'd be the helping hand she'd need.

The next window over, Peyton Sawyer watched with interest. She wasn't aware of the whole story of how Nikki became an outcast; but she was willing to find out – especially after the way she'd seen Brooke react to Nikki's return.

-----

Jake scrambled through his locker to find that damn calculus book he'd somehow misplaced in the small space. If it wasn't at home, or in his bag; it _should_ be in the last place he looked. Just as he was about to give up, he felt a presence next to him; the identity blocked by the open locker door. He could just make out the brunette hair from out of the corner of his eye. He stopped his search and straightened, slowly closing the locker door.

"Hey," he said, "You okay?"

Brooke gulped. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but she was unsure of how to approach the subject next. Jake, in the meantime, was just thrilled to have her standing next to him of her own accord. Now if she would just speak…

"Hey, um…" she brushed some hair out of her face and glanced around. There were a few faces looking at them. They had all noticed very quickly that Brooke didn't seem to be talking to her old group anymore – and they all had a very fun time trying to figure out why and watching the drama unfold. Brooke instantly regretted coming up to Jake. Maybe she should have just written or called. "Okay, bye!" she said as she tried walking away. Jake grabbed hold of her wrist – not hard enough to hurt her, but just firm enough to stop her from leaving.

"Brooke, that's the most amount of words you've spoken to me in a while. I'm not going to let you leave like this." He told her. She sighed and turned back.

"I need to talk to you in private." She said. Jake nodded and the two walked – at a distance – towards the library.

Once there, Jake immediately turned to her. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Let's get this straight, I'm only here because it's to do with Jenny and I care about her. I don't care about Nathan, I don't care about Haley, I don't particularly want to care about you. And I don't want you to care about me. Got it?"

"Wait, what's this about Jenny?" Jake asked. Brooke tried to figure out the best way to say it.

"I… Sh… Nikki's back." She finally said. Jake stared. "Did you hear what I said?" she asked when he didn't respond.

"Are you sure?"

"She turned up at my house last night. Unless it was Ashton Kutcher dressed like her, which – by the way – would have been a million times better, then I say it was her."

"Well, what did she say? What did she want? Does she want Jenny? Did you talk to her?" the boy began to ramble.

"I don't know, Jake! She was just there. She tried to sweet-talk me into giving her a place to stay. She said some stuff about Jenny, and she thought you and Haley were together because she saw Haley and Jenny at yours. I don't know why she's here, but it's not a good sign!"

"She was at the house?"

"It sounds like it. I didn't exactly go into details with her." Brooke ran her fingers through her hair, "I'm just telling you because I want Jenny to be safe. I don't know where Nikki is now but she says she's planning on staying, though in Nikki-speak, it's only a matter of time before she leaves again." She added bitterly. Jake gave a small nod.

"Thanks for warning me, Brooke. I guess I should make sure Jenny's safe." He placed a hand on her arm and she moved back away from Jake.

"Yeah, well," his friend sighed and looked away from his stare, "just as long as she's safe." Brooke decided to avoid questions beyond Nikki and Jenny by taking a few more steps back and withdrawing from the scene.

"Brooke, does it really have to be like this?" Jake questioned as he attempted to approach her.

"I didn't make this choice, Jake." Brooke replied as she picked up her pace and left him in the library; both relieved that Brooke had taken the time to talk to him, and concerned for his daughter's safety now that her mother was in town.

-----

Nikki was waiting for Brooke outside the school with two cups of their favorite coffees. Upon seeing the girl, Brooke scoffed and shook her head at the sight.

"Are you serious?" she asked, clearly unimpressed with whatever charade Nikki seemed to be playing.

"Like a heart attack," Nikki quipped offering the coffee, a smile still fixed on her face.

"I don't drink coffee," Brooke told her. This time Nikki scoffed.

"Nice try, but I know you, and you can't refuse a cup of vanilla chai latte."

"I think I will today," the other girl replied crossing her arms. "Besides there might be arsenic in there or something." Nikki chuckled.

"You really believe I came all this way to poison you? Please. Even I'm smarter than that."

"I'm surprised you haven't skipped town yet. What? No bags hidden in a nearby bush? No bus ticket in your back pocket?"

"Someone's lacking trust these days," she observed. Brooke hated her for noticing it.

"Not like you've earned it anyway. Now are you going to leave or am I going to have to _make_ you leave?"

"And how are you going to do that, sweetheart?" Nikki challenged. Fortunately for Brooke, she felt a tall figure stand behind her, and place their hand on her lower back. Brooke smiled widely as Lucas stood next to her.

Apparently thinking she had won this round, Brooke didn't notice the way Lucas tried his best to keep a stoic expression on his face, and not let the smirk of recognition on Nikki's face register. He hoped that she'd forgotten about their drunken tryst years ago – but even if she hadn't – he hoped that she'd not reveal it in front of Brooke. Not until he'd told her himself. And only if he had to.

Nikki then broke out into a smile and gave a defeated nod. "Anyway, I'd better go. I'm going to go meet a friend."

"Oh, you still have those?" Brooke questioned, "I'm surprised you stick around long enough to make them."

"I hear you're pretty low on friends these days too," Nikki shot back. When Brooke gave her a questioning look, she shrugged, "Just rumors I've been hearing." Nikki's eyes turned towards Lucas. "I'll see you soon, stud." She winked before walking off.

Lucas blushed as Brooke turned with her mouth gaping open in disgust. "Can you believe her?" she asked.

"What?"

"Can you believe she's here again? As if I didn't have enough to deal with." She chewed her lip. "Do you want to get out of here for lunch?"

"I was going to catch up on some reading…" he saw Brooke's crestfallen expression and shook his head, "but it can wait. Come on, let's go." She smiled and led the way out of the school.

Nikki tossed the cups of coffee in a nearby trash can and wiped her hands on her jeans and caught sight of the two leaving the school. With a small grin, she shook her head in amusement.

Things in Tree Hill were getting interesting.

"You're Nikki, right?" a voice asked. Nikki turned to find a curly blonde-headed girl in front of her. She looked her up and down and raised an eyebrow.

"Who wants to know?"

"Peyton Sawyer," Peyton extended her hand for Nikki to shake – though Nikki just looked scornfully at it; waiting for the girl's explanation. "I'm sure it's none of my business, but I thought I could help you out."

"And how exactly are you going to help? Do you even know why I'm here?"

"Not exactly, but I know you hate Brooke Davis almost as much as I do."

"For the record, Blondie, I don't hate Brooke. I just want to get my own back at her and the rest of them for abandoning _me _when I needed them." Nikki replied, bitterness tainting her words.

"Well, that's something. I happen to know that Brooke's feeling the exact same way as you do. If it wasn't for my lapdog of a brother, she'd be totally alone."

"That guy is your brother?"

"Painfully, yes. He has some stupid crush on her and doesn't realize she's only using him while Nathan and Haley are living with Jake." Peyton explained rolling her eyes. Nikki's lips curled into a smile.

"You know what, Goldilocks; I think you've helped me enough. I've got it from here." Nikki said. Peyton frowned.

"But I wasn't finis-"

"Yes, you were. If you don't mind, I'm kind of used to working alone. If I do need any of your help, I'm sure you'll be standing by." Peyton seemed disappointed at not having the opportunity but nodded.

"Sure."

"Besides, you can't even fathom the payback Jake and the Scott twins are gonna get," Nikki teased before sauntering off; Peyton's interest very piqued.

-----

Haley suppressed a yawn as she fixed a bottle of fruit juice for Jenny – exactly the way Jake had taught her to. After picking the baby up from daycare earlier in the afternoon, it was her turn to babysit until Nathan and Jake returned from school. Since she was an honor student and a tutor, Haley was occasionally allowed to use her study hall periods to go home early. Haley didn't mind looking after the girl, but currently Jenny was harboring a slight cold, and had been up half the night crying.

As she tightened the lid on Jenny's beaker, she heard a small thud come from the living room.

"Jenny? Are you okay?" Haley asked as she made her way there from the kitchen. She stopped short when she saw the woman holding Jenny in her arms. Haley stared at first, not knowing what to do. She hadn't really talked to Nikki… well, ever. "Let her go." she managed to squeak out.

"Can't a mom hold her child? You seem to have good family values. You should know that." the brunette, who wore more eyeliner than Haley had ever seen on anybody, replied.

"Yeah, and I also know that part of good family values is for mothers not to abandon their children. So hand her over." Haley outstretched her arms to get Jenny back. Haley noted how her hands seem to shake slightly with fear and nerves. She tried to will them to stay still.

"Jenny's perfectly happy here." Nikki replied keeping a hold on the girl.

"Nathan and Jake will be back any minute. Just give her back or I'll call the police. I swear."

"And say what? I'm Jenny's biological mother. It says so on her birth certificate and so I have every right to be with her. More rights than you do."

"Jenny doesn't even know you. Look, she's hungry!" Haley gestured towards the little girl who seemed to becoming more restless in the arms of her apparent mother.

"I can feed her."

"I'd rather you didn't." Although when she said this, Haley regretted it. Perhaps it would have been easier to let Nikki feed Jenny under her watchful eye and wait for Jake or Nathan to come home.

"You know, I think Jenny and I will go for a walk," Nikki moved towards the door, with Jenny firmly in her grasp. Haley chased after her in desperation.

"Please, don't! Come on, Nikki, you know you shouldn't do this. Give her back to me." The tutor pleaded. "I'll let you feed her, but you do it here, okay? Just don't take her!"

"Give Jake my best, and tell him I'm sad to have missed him," Nikki said as she ventured further away from Haley.

"You can tell him yourself," Jake's voice said angrily from behind Nikki. He'd seen Nikki's car outside the house and let himself in from the back. Nikki took one look at Jake and bounded for the front door – only for it to open and Nathan to reveal himself. She was cornered.

"Hand her over," Nathan demanded. Nikki sighed and reluctantly gave Jenny back to Haley, who took the young girl back into the living room, while the boys dealt with Nikki.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Nathan Scott and my dear old boyfriend, Jake. I guess you guys caught me." She held out her wrists in front of me, "Carting me off?"

"Quit trying to be cute, Nikki." Jake replied gruffly. "What are you doing here?"

"Fishing for an invite to dinner? What does it look like I'm doing, Jake? I'm trying to spend time with my daughter."

"She isn't your daughter."

"I gave birth to her, didn't I?"

"And then abandoned her. Your 'mother of the year' trophy is in the mail." he added dryly.

"And I guess you are so much better than I am. You didn't even want me to have the baby." Nikki shot back.

"I was ready to marry you if that's what it took. But you ran off."

"Come on, it's not like you weren't relieved. Your pregnant girlfriend skipping town sure got rid of _that _problem. If you think about it, I was looking out for _you_."

"You were looking out for yourself. And don't think that we didn't try to find you, because we did."

"Guess you must have given up quickly," she replied. Jake sighed.

"You don't know the half of it. But that's in the past now. You can't just come back here and try to make up for what you did."

"People can't change?"

"Not after this long, Nikki. Just go…"

"You know, it took me two months to earn enough money for a bus ticket here, Jake. I want Jenny, and I'm going to get Jenny because I always get what I want."

"Don't make threats."

"It's not a threat if you co-operate, is it now?" Nikki countered. Sensing that she'd probably well worn out her welcome, she headed for the front door, catching Nathan's watchful eye. He looked pissed. She smiled slightly and stroked one of her fingers down his arm – his fist tightened with anger, and she seemed to enjoy seeing him that way. "I guess I forgot about our little deal," she said, "Oops!"

Just in time to see Jake shoot Nathan a questioning look, and Nathan really get mad, Nikki slipped out of the door and left the others to clean up after her.

"What did she mean by that?" Jake asked. Nathan shrugged.

"Who knows? It's Nikki."

In the short silence that followed, Nathan tried to relax in the wake of Nikki's appearance and words to him. "Is Jenny okay?" he asked, diverting the attention back to the girl that had been the centre of the whole ordeal. He followed Jake into the living room to join Haley who was clutching Jenny and sobbing quietly on the couch. While Jake went towards his daughter, Nathan sat beside his fiancée and gave her a hug and a kiss on her forehead.

"I'm so sorry, Jake. I only left her for a minute. I don't know how Nikki got in. I thought I locked the door." Haley cried, feeling so very guilty for what had happened.

"Haley, come on, don't cry." Jake said as he held his daughter in his arms and gave her a kiss. "Look, Nikki's gone and Jenny's okay. It's not your fault."

"I should have locked the doors. I should have kept Jenny with me."

"Don't worry about it, Haley. Nikki's just trying to scare us." Nathan reminded her. He turned to Jake. "How are we going to keep it from happening again? Nikki sounded pretty serious when she said she's going after Jenny."

"You're telling me," Jake bit his lip, "None of us can stay home all day with her. I'll just tell Jenny's daycare staff not to let Nikki get near Jenny. Only until I can sort something else out."

"How did you guys even know Nikki was here?" Haley asked suddenly realizing that the boys hasn't seemed as surprised as she'd been when they'd seen Nikki at the house.

"Brooke told me."

"Brooke? She saw Nikki? And she talked to you?" she pointed to Jake.

"Yeah. Although it wasn't much of a conversation. She just wanted to give us a heads up about Nikki being back."

"That was nice of her," Haley agreed, pleased her friend still showed she cared, though she was barely on speaking terms with her anymore. "Did she talk to you too?" she questioned Nathan, who shook his head.

"No. But why are we talking about her anyway? We should be talking about Nikki and discussing how we're going to protect Jenny from her." Despite Nathan's bitter tone towards Brooke, the other two nodded and began discussing their options.

-----

Haley sniffed as she wiped some tears from her face with the dishcloth she was using to wipe the dishes.

"You okay?" she jumped as Jake came up behind her.

"Uh, yeah, just…"

"Are you still in shock about Nikki?" Jake asked, "because I have to say, it's been a whole eight hours and I'm still feeling like I want to throw up or something."

"Kind of. I'm just worried about Nathan."

"Why?"

"Did you see how he reacted earlier when Brooke's name was mentioned? I know that neither of them are really talking but it scares me when Nathan talks like that about her. Like she doesn't mean anything to him. I'm just… I feel so guilty because it's like I caused it. Like if I didn't like Nathan or didn't agree marry him, they'd still be a family."

"I get scared too, Hales, but Nathan and Brooke are both old enough to know the way they feel. I just hope that it doesn't last too long. The most tragic thing would be for them to completely break, you know?" he let out a small sigh, "Maybe something will happen to throw them back together again. I know that it's going to take more than us just willing for them to stop being so damn stubborn. But Nathan hates me talking about her or his parents, and Brooke won't talk to any of us."

"So what we're waiting for is a miracle." Haley sighed.

"Something like that."

-----

Peyton entered the smoke-riddled bar and coughed slightly as she waved her hands in front of her face to try and see though the smoke. She tried her best to remain calm when a few leery men started hollering at her and wolf whistling. Maybe it was a mistake to wear such a short skirt, she thought, but she'd been told to try and make herself look older to fit in... and older apparently meant sluttier.

"Blondie!" a voice called from a back corner of the bar. Peyton turned and saw Nikki sitting down with two drinks in front of her. She motioned to the empty seat opposite her. "I thought you weren't going to show."

"I had a little trouble trying to get out of the house without my brother nosing around." she explained.

"Lucas, right?"

"Right." Peyton looked around uneasily when Nikki tapped on the table to get her attention.

"I'm glad you could make it."

"Yeah, me too. Are we allowed to be in here?"

"Sure." Nikki waved her hand dismissively and pushed one of the drinks towards Peyton, "Enough of the small talk, Sawyer, tell me everything you know."

**To Be Continued...**


	11. Trust The Tale Not The Teller

_I didn't expect it to be so long since my last update. Apologies again. I hope you like this though. Just a warning: You might not understand a lot of what Nathan does in this chapter. It's probably not very clear, but it'll be explained in the next chapter. _

**Chapter Eleven: Trust The Tale, Not The Teller**

"So I've was thinking," Brooke said on Friday afternoon, "are you free tonight?" She waited for Lucas' answer, who nodded almost immediately.

"Sure. Why?"

"I just thought that maybe we should… go out tonight." Lucas didn't catch onto the way she'd buried her hands into the pockets of her jeans.

"Sure. Want to grab a slice of pizza?"

"No, I meant that we should go _out_ tonight." She emphasized and Lucas suddenly understood what she meant.

"Oh, sure! Definitely! Th-There's that new Italian place that opened up right near the airport."

"That'd be nice," Brooke nodded, stifling a laugh, "For a smart guy, you catch on slow."

He blushed, "You kind of just surprised me. I didn't think you were there. I didn't think you were even thinking of, you know, us."

Brooke shrugged a little sheepishly in reply, "I wasn't before, but since She Who Shall Never Be Named Until She Falls Under A Bus arrived, I was rethinking a few things. You're a really good friend, Lucas. I guess maybe I'm able to open my heart a little more." The way his smiled down at her made her heart flutter – a feeling she'd almost forgotten existed amongst all the current chaos.

"I'm glad. You deserve it. I guess I'll see you tonight? I'll pick you up around eight, if that's okay."

"You're the guy that makes the plans. Just don't be late!" she warned him as she pointed a finger at him and followed it up with a playful wink before walking away with an obvious bounce in her step.

Lucas couldn't contain his grin as he watched her meet up with a few cheerleaders on the other side of the courtyard. He'd waited so long for a chance like this, and she'd been the one to blindside him with the question. Of course the answer had been 'yes' and he was determined that he wasn't going to screw it up.

Nothing was going to ruin this for him.

-----

"I'm thinking of telling Jake about what happened with Nikki and me." Nathan told Haley as they walked to Chemistry. She gave him a look that suggested she wasn't completely thrilled with the idea.

"Do you think it's best?" she asked as they rounded the corner towards their classroom. Nathan shrugged.

"I don't know if it's the right idea, but I don't like lying to him."

"You've kept this to yourself long enough, why change things now?"

"Because Nikki's here now. She could tell him at any time and I don't want Jake to find out like that." He sighed heavily and halted to a stop. "I hated not telling him in the first place, but I just pushed it down as the months passed. Now… now I just feel lost. Things with Brooke and my parents are getting worse as the days go by, and Jake's my best friend. Friends are supposed to be honest with each other."

Haley placed a hand on his chest. "You haven't lied, Nathan. You didn't tell him because you thought it'd hurt him. It's not lying. I know you've been having a tough time lately; we all have. But if you _need _to tell him, then I'd do it before Nikki does. Whatever you decide, I'll be with you." She stood on tip-toes and placed a small kiss on his lips. "Come on or we'll be late for class."

-----

Brooke took a sip of water as she glanced over the menu one last time before Lucas placed their orders. She offered the waiter a polite smile as she handed him her menu and then faced Lucas, who seemed to be very nervous.

"Relax, Lucas," she told him. "We've done this plenty of times and it's only me."

"I know. It is you. You're Brooke Davis and I'm the quiet guy who sits behind you in English and has had a crush on you since you moved in!"

"You sit next to me now," she reminded him. "Things are allowed to change."

"So is this a good change or a bad change?" Lucas asked. She gave him a coy smile.

"I'll let you know."

While they indulged in light conversation over dinner, they were not aware of the girl that was making her way to their table until it was too late.

"Well if it isn't my dear friend," she smiled, taking a chair from the next able and seating herself in between the two. Brooke glared at her.

"What are you doing here, Nikki?" she said coldly.

"Spying on you two lovebirds. Though I have to say that I'm a little hurt I wasn't inviting to your dinner."

"Grow a conscience and maybe you will be. Then again, most of us are repulsed by the sight of you," Brooke hit back, grinding her teeth when Nikki took a gulp of Brooke's drink without asking.

"Most of us? Are you speaking for Jake, Nathan and Haley? Because as far as I heard, you guys aren't speaking at all. Unless you count those adorable little glares of yours. By the way, I'd ease up on those. You're starting to get wrinkles."

"What do you want, Nikki?" Lucas cut in, both frustrated at the unwelcome gatecrasher and nervous with her presence. Nikki seemed to sense this and it was then that Lucas knew she had something up her sleeve.

"Lucas, how nice to see you, _again_." She winked, "You're looking very gorgeous this evening."

"Give it up, Nikki," Brooke butted in, "He's not interested in hoe-bags like you." Nikki threw her head back as she laughed loudly and dramatically.

"Oh, if you only knew," she told Brooke. She took once quick glance at Lucas who seemed to be willing her not to open her mouth. Unfortunately Nikki was a woman with a plan. "You see, there's a teeny thing Lucas here forgot to tell you. Or anyone."

Brooke shot Lucas a look and he tried to explain himself before Nikki did.

"Lucas?"

"See, Lucas and I met last year. Long before you ever spotted him. And I have to say, he's a pretty bad boy. My knees were weak for days afterwards," she said, obviously enjoying every minute of it. Lucas dropped his head down on the table.

"Lucas, tell me she's lying," Brooke asked.

"It's not how it seems." He began.

"Oh, but it is." Nikki nodded, "You can think I'm lying, Brooke, but remember that you should always trust the tale, not the teller. No matter how he tries to twist it, you've got to face up to the truth…" Nikki pushed her face nearer to Brooke, "You settled for my sloppy seconds." She let out a gleeful chuckle as she got up from the chair and left them alone, not before running her fingers through Lucas' hair.

"Brooke…" he began. She shook her head at him and gathered her belongings. "Wait," Lucas called out, "You haven't even heard my side."

"I'm pretty sure it ends the same way. Now unless you're going to tell me that it never happened, I think we're done here."

"It was a long time ago. I didn't even know about Jenny, I didn't know she'd run away. All I knew was that she was Jake's ex. I didn't know!"

"That's not an excuse. You kept this from me." Brooke told him. "You know what the last couple of months have been like and you still lied to me."

"I knew it would hurt you so I didn't say anything. Besides, it was a stupid mistake."

"Yeah, it was," Brooke agreed, "But I can't afford stupid mistakes, Lucas. I've already made a ton of them with my brother and my best friend. I'm not going to make anymore." She smiled sadly at him. "I guess I was wrong. Maybe I'm not ready to open up my heart anymore."

-----

Nathan approached Jake as he put Jenny to bed. His best friend spotted him and gave him a smile.

"I finally got her off to sleep," he whispered. "She loves that mini basketball you got her. Do you think maybe she's going to be in the WNBA?" Jake laughed softly. Nathan smiled.

"We can only hope. I'd better teach her the free throws since you suck at them." He replied. Jake nodded and closed the door to her nursery slowly behind him as he joined Nathan in the hallway.

"You want to play some PlayStation? It's about time I kicked your ass."

"Actually, I have to talk to you about something."

"Sure, what is it?" Jake crossed his arms over his chest and waited.

"Can we go sit down somewhere? I'm not comfortable talking in the hallway."

"The living room's free." He suggested and the two made their way downstairs. "So, what's up?"

Nathan seriously began to reconsider his decision. He didn't quite know how Jake would react. How could he just tell Jake something like that? He should either have told him when it happened, or kept his mouth shut. Either way it was too late now.

"Don't get mad, because I only kept this from you to protect you. I knew you'd get pissed. I knew that Brooke would be pissed and I'm pissed at myself too.

"Nathan, are you going to tell me or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" Jake asked.

"I'm the one who told Nikki to get lost." Nathan told him. Jake seemed a little perplexed.

"I think all of us at one point or another told her to get lost."

"But this was just after she left Jenny at your door. It was the same week."

"You saw her? Where?"

"At a bar. I was there with Michelle and Nikki was with some guy – who, by the way, was Lucas Sawyer." Nathan tried to read the expression on Jake's face as he said it, but all he saw was a furrowed brow and confusion. "Anyway, when they left, I followed them and, well, they slept together. Afterwards I was so mad at her for what she'd done with Lucas, and what she'd done to you and Jenny. I told her to go away and that she wasn't welcome here. That you didn't want to see her and that Jenny didn't need her. That we weren't her friends anymore and no-one wanted her, and that she should just go. So she did." He finished his explanation with a heavy sigh. "It feels so good to finally tell you that."

"She just left?" Jake asked.

"Yeah." Nathan nodded.

"And you let her?"

"Uh…"

"Did she not want to talk to me? Did she even ask about Jenny? Was she going to stay before you made her leave?"

"I… I don't know. She didn't say much about anything." Nathan said.

"You kept this from me? I thought she'd left long before I found Jenny on my doorstep. And she was still here?" Jake asked.

"Jake, that's not the point. She was at a _bar_ and she slept with Lucas. That's not the kind of person you want around Jenny. It's no wonder she left Jenny. That girl is so much better off with us than her. You have to agree with that."

"That doesn't matter. Nikki's still Jenny's mother. She's still the girl I loved. What she did hurt like hell, but what hurt more was the fact that I thought she was gone. But she wasn't. She was still here."

"She would have left eventually. Besides you said you didn't want to see her."

"Maybe. But don't you think that's something I should have known about? Nikki is none of your business, Nathan. In fact, half of this doesn't concern you. You had no right to do that."

"I was trying to protect you and Brooke… and Jenny!"

"Since when do you care abut protecting Brooke? You haven't spoken to her in months! You hate even the mention of her name. Look at _your_ family, Nathan. Look what your situation is. You try and deal with that before you go around breaking _my_ family up." Jake looked away from his best friend. "Leave me alone for a while."

-----

"Hey there, Brooke!" Nikki's chirpy voice rang as she sat down next to Brooke at The Blue Post. "I see you're up to your old tricks."

"Go away, Nikki." Brooke replied.

"Oh come on. Talk to me." Nikki said as she ordered two shots for herself and Brooke.

"I don't really want to right now."

"Who else are you going to talk to? You hate Jake, Nathan and that Haley girl. Lucas betrayed you. Face it, you only have me left." She passed Brooke a shot glass. "Drink up."

Brooke pushed it away from her, "I can see what you're doing, Nikki. That whole thing as the restaurant wasn't to break me and Lucas up – though you may have succeeded in that – it was to try and sweet-talk me back."

"Wow, you're sharp," Nikki nodded.

"It's not going to work, Nikki. There's nothing you could do that would upset me bad enough to come crawling back to you and the life you live. I'm done with that."

"You can take the girl out of the fun, but you can't take the fun out of the girl," Nikki muttered taking her shot. "You and I, we had a lot of fun, you can't deny that. I know you enjoyed sneaking out and coming here. Half these guys here know that." Brooke didn't say anything but stared at her shot glass. "You can still get that life back. When was the last time you really had fun? When you laughed? You don't have any more options, girlies, unless you want to go through life alone. So drink up."

Brooke sighed and picked up the shot glass, looking at the clear liquid moving inside it.

"You're right. I don't have any other options." She said to Nikki, much to the girl's delight. "But that still doesn't mean I'm going to turn into you." Brooke placed the full shot glass back on the bar, jumped off the bar stool and out of the bar; leaving behind a very pissed off Nikki.

-----

"I was wrong, Haley." Nathan said as he walked into the kitchen. Almost an hour had passed since Jake had yelled at him and this was the first time Haley had seen him.

"Wrong about what?" she asked as she finished drying off the last of the dinner dishes. She expected him to say how he shouldn't have told Jake. That perhaps what had happened should have never come out.

"Us. I thought that we really could make it and prove everybody wrong, but I got it all... it's not going to work." He sighed and Haley frowned.

"What are you talking about Nathan? Does this have something to do with what happened with you and Jake?" He shrugged. "Don't you... don't you want to marry me?"

"I just don't think _we _were right. Maybe everyone else was and that we made a mistake by not listening to them."

"You're talking like you want to break up." Haley wasn't quite sure what was going on. He had avoided answering her question about their marriage.

"Haley..."

"You do, don't you?"

"It's not that I don't love you."

"Then why are you doing this? I thought you said that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks, as long as we're together."

"But it does matter, Haley. We've torn our families apart because of this."

"And so you're going to let them win?"

"It's not about winning."

"Yes it is! You said so yourself. What was this whole thing about? Or were you just trying to get me into bed?"

"No! I just... I was just thinking about it, and with Nikki in town it made me realize that we're too young to be held back. You've got so much ahead of you, Haley. So much potential. I don't want to be reason for you not to reach it and become something huge."

"So you're settling for breaking my heart instead?" she questioned, holding onto the kitchen table to steady herself. She hadn't expected this. Not at all.

"I'm sorry." He said almost redundantly.

"You're not going to change your mind about this? This is it? Because I'm getting tired of you changing your mind. First you want to get married, then you want to just be engaged and now you don't want any of it."

"I still want you."

"But clearly you don't - otherwise you wouldn't be saying this stuff. Did your dad get to you? Is he threatening you or something?"

"No-one's threatening me, Haley. I was thinking about what everyone had said. What Brooke had said. I've hurt her so much, Hales. So much that it pains me to even look at her. She's so sad, and I know she's also ignoring us but that just makes it hurt more. She's my sister! I love her more than anything and I hated how she didn't understand - but maybe it was me who didn't understand. She was right. Jake was right. Everyone was right. I was the one who was wrong for dragging you into this. I guess I was just sick of being under my dad's and I decided to do something for myself for once. I just ended up hurting more people than I wanted to and that includes you. Don't think that I don't hate myself for doing this, for putting you in this position with your parents and Brooke. I know you love them and I'm not worth losing them over."

"But I want you. I want this."

"You want a family but I'm not ready for a family of my own yet. Someday, but not now.

Look, this wasn't easy for me."

"Oh, well you're making it look pretty damn easy." She spat out bitterly.

"Haley, hate me if you want, but at least we're not married." He tried to remain optimistic.

"Because that would have been too mess, right?"

"I talked to your dad. He said that he'll pick you up when you want."

"You told my dad before you told me?" she seemed surprised and hurt by this.

"I didn't want you to have nowhere to go. I knew you wouldn't want to be around me after." He explained.

"And what about you? Did you tell your dad or Brooke?" she asked.

"No, they don't know yet."

"So what are you going to do? Camp out here until you get Brooke to forgive you?"

"Maybe. I don't know."

"Is Jake letting you stay here?" Haley asked. Nathan shrugged.

"I'm staying here tonight but after… I don't know. I- I'm really sorry. I just don't think now is the right time for us."

"So you've said," Haley wiped the few tears that had started to fall down her cheeks. "I don't think you should talk to me for a while."

Nathan nodded. "I figured you wouldn't want to."

"I'm going to go and pack." He could hear her voice becoming quieter and when she brushed past him in a hurry, he knew that he'd have a lot of making up to do.

Jake appeared in the kitchen doorway, having heard everything Nathan and Haley had said. Nathan looked up at him and waited for him to say something.

"You're an ass." Jake told him before leaving to go talk to Haley.

Nathan remained alone in the kitchen for the next few hours until he heard Haley's footsteps coming slowly down the stairs. He was going to say something, but the door opened and he could hear Jake, Haley and Haley's dad having a conversation before Jake said goodbye to the both of them and the door shut. Nathan waited for the car to drive away before sinking his head into his hands.

Jake reappeared at the door. "She's gone back home." Nathan nodded. "Look, I know tonight's probably been hard for you, and I don't know why exactly you decided to break up with Haley but… you can stay here tonight. Tomorrow you have to go home."

"Fix that, right?"

"Yeah. Then you can fix what you lost with me and Haley." Jake ran a hand through his hair, "Just don't expect any of it to be easy."

**To Be Continued…**


	12. Waiting On Something That Will Never Com

_I'm so sorry for the long delay. The holiday season kept me busy and I was also pretty busy with school work and such. I just had a couple of parts of this to brush up and I've finally done it. So enjoy!_

**Chapter Twelve: **Waiting On Something That Will Never Come

Nathan sat at the kitchen table with the phone in front of him and his hands on either side of it. His right knee bounced up and down with anxiety as he tried to pluck up the courage to make _that _call. Rubbing his eyes, he tried his best to come up with something to say.

He knew his parents would be at work and that only left Brooke.

She was his sister and he couldn't even bring himself to call her without wanting to bury his head in the sand.

He wasn't even sure if she'd hang up when she heard his voice. Or have some bitchy comment to shoot back at him.

Nathan wondered if she knew that he'd broken up with Haley.

Well if she had, then she would have definitely called.

He actually looked forward to that. After not speaking for several weeks, Nathan had practically lost count of how long it had been. All he knew was that he missed hearing her voice, even if it was to insult him, and he missed seeing her everyday.

"Pick up the damn phone and call her," Jake's voice interrupted his thoughts. The tone in his voice wasn't too friendly. It sounded irritated rather than encouraging.

"Uh, yeah, I'm going to. I was just…I'm not sure how to. Maybe I don't need to talk to her; maybe I can just buy her a pair of shoes or that new Calvin Klein fragrance." Nathan suggested.

Jake sighed, "You're not dating her, Nathan; she's your sister. Speaking of which, you know her better than that. No gift is going to do the talking for you. You hurt the hell out of her."

"Jake, I have no idea what to say. I don't even know what's going on in her life anymore aside from her cheerleading times."

Jake didn't answer him but instead sighed. "I'm going to drop Jenny off at her daycare before work."

"Want a ride?" Nathan asked.

"I'll be fine. You just make that call before I get back." Nathan sensed the underlying message, _'and you get gone, before I get back'_. He nodded and watched as Jake led Jenny to the front door. Jenny gave Nathan a little wave as they left. Nathan smiled back and realized he was going to really miss seeing that girl everyday. Living in the same house as her and Jake had really given him the reality of what a family meant – especially so young. He wondered whether that was part of the reason he broke up with Haley.

They weren't ready.

There was no way that they were they ready for all of that.

Sighing, he looked down at the phone in front of him.

-----

The phone in Brooke's handbag vibrated furiously as she walked through the mall. As much as she'd tried ignoring the mechanical whirrings and chirpy rings of her cellphone, it had gotten too much and, truthfully, she was growing sick of hearing it. Putting down the nine bags of purchases that currently occupied her hands on the floor; she looked at the message on screen and frowned.

'Lucas (CELL) calling'.

As if the fifteen text messages and voicemails hadn't been enough.

When would he get the message?

She rejected the call and picked up her bags again. Shopping always made her feel happy and she'd spent almost the whole day at the mall working through the anger and disappointment that was still coursing through her body.

She mentally added his name to the growing list of people that had let her down.

Well, at least she had shiny new clothes to go with her loneliness.

She wasn't all that mad at him, she didn't think, but maybe she was just pissed off at having Nikki have one over her. Plus, he did sleep with Nikki (although without knowing who she was) and did lie to her (although it's not like she wanted to know about it either).

Last night she had been so eager to finally go out and do something and push Nikki, Nathan, Jake and Haley out of her mind. Brooke had finally had the courage to ask Lucas out - because he sure hadn't been getting the message – and she'd taken special care over her appearance.

She did admit that it had been a little disappointing beforehand. She had gotten ready all by herself, having no female best friend to debate over outfits or shades of lipstick with her. She had kind of missed Nathan glaring and telling her to 'be careful' and being really unimpressed when he answered the door to her date… and then she'd missed Jake being there to rein Nathan in, and tell Brooke to have a good time but shoot a warning look at her date telling him not to mess around with her.

And, of course, then Nikki had to come in and ruin everything. Finding out that from her had been too much for Brooke to handle, and she'd almost regressed back into her old ways. Though seeing Nikki had quickly thrown that idea out of the window.

There was no way she was becoming to who she had been back then.

The ringing of the phone knocked her out of her thoughts. Either she'd been thinking for a while or he was really desperate. Brooke contemplated just ignoring it again but she was really growing sick of her ringtone, never mind annoying every shopper she came across. A ringing phone was not the best mood setter for a shopping trip.

She pulled it back out of her bag and was going to press the 'reject call' button, expecting to see Lucas' name displayed on the screen.

Only it wasn't his name.

'Jake (HOME) calling'.

Her eyebrows knitted together a little in surprise and confusion, wondering why Jake was calling. Though she and Jake weren't on the best of terms either at the moment, he usually reserved his weekly 'please talk to us' phonecalls to the evenings when she was at home.

Torn between whether ignoring it or answering it was the right thing to do; she chewed on her bottom lip nervously. When the phone still didn't stop ringing on the fourteenth ring, she gathered that it probably wouldn't stop until it referred to voicemail or she did something.

Finally, she hit the 'reject call' button.

Before feeling really bad about it.

She wondered whether Nikki was right. Maybe she _was_ the one pushing people away. Perhaps everything would have gone so much smoother if she'd actually bothered to listen to others. Swallowing her pride, she scrolled through her phone and hit the 'redial' button.

Expecting to hear Jake's voice on the other end, she was genuinely surprised to hear it was Nathan.

"Brooke?" he also seemed surprised to hear her voice.

"Hey, Nathan." She smiled to herself and she could hear him sigh with relief. There was a brief pause as neither of them knew what to say next. "Um, I think someone called."

"Yeah… that was me." Nathan admitted.

"Oh!" she didn't hide her shock. "Was it anything important or just a social call?" she tried to phrase the words in a way that wouldn't offend him or make it seem like she didn't want anything to do with them. She was _trying_ her best to be the bigger person here. If only for this one time.

"A little of both. I came to the realization that maybe we've said some stuff that we didn't really mean and things might have spiraled out of control unnecessarily."

"The funniest thing is that I was completely thinking the same thing," Brooke confessed.

"You were?"

"Yeah, that's why I called back. I thought maybe I was too hasty in the choices I made. I mean, who am I to judge you and Haley's relationship when I keep screwing up my own?" she wondered aloud. "Anyway, I was at the mall."

"Shopping?" she sighed heavily on the phone.

"Mom made me give some of the stuff I didn't wear to GoodWill." Brooke admitted.

"You must have loved that." He chuckled in reply.

"She made me give away a lot." Brooke pouted.

"How is Mom?" Nathan asked, the words flying out of his mouth before he could stop them. Brooke seemed surprised to hear him ask.

"Uh… doing okay, I guess. She's been kind of on edge since… you know; it's been quiet here. Dad's been doing longer hours too so there's not really much happening."

"Oh."

"How's Jake?" Brooke questioned.

"He's okay," Nathan decided not to tell her about the fact they weren't really talking. "Jenny's got a few teeth now. Bites like a vampire."

"Ow."

"Yeah, I've got dents in all my fingers. We bought her that cold jelly thing to bite on but I think she prefers me." Brooke chuckled and it brought a smile to his face.

"What about Haley?" Nathan's smile faded.

"Well… that's kind of w-"

Loud beeping cut Nathan off and Brooke groaned.

"That's my phone battery," she explained, "I didn't recharge it last night." Nathan gave a mutter of agreement. Concerned that this may be her only chance to try and make amends and she wasn't going to let a phone battery stop her from doing that. Not know that the first stone had already been set. "How about we meet up? I'd rather see you face-to-face anyway."

Nathan agreed, partly because he too wanted to see Brooke, and partly due to the fact that he wanted to be out of the house when Jake returned. He had quickly worn out his welcome; that much was clear.

"Yeah, I'll meet you at the mall? I've got to get out of the house anyway," Nathan's eyes scanned the confines of the kitchen.

"Cool, I'll be at the food court," Brooke told him. "You can buy me lunch." Nathan chuckled again.

"I'll be there in fifteen minutes." He promised, hanging up the phone after a brief goodbye.

Grabbing his jacket that hung near the front door, Nathan's hand automatically moved towards the key rack to take his keys. He wondered whether he should take Jake's house key off his keyring but decided perhaps it was a little premature. After all, once Nathan moved back home, made up with his family, fixed things with Haley; his friendship with Jake was sure to swiftly mend.

Everything else seemed to be starting to come together.

As he stepped over the threshold of the doorway, Jake ran full speed towards him and forced Nathan to stop to look at him.

"Hey, buddy, you okay?" he asked, wondering what had Jake so spooked.

"Have you seen Jenny?" his friend questioned, "Did you pick her up? Did someone drop her off home?"

"No, I've been here all day. Nobody's been here since you left with Jenny. Why?"

"She's gone. I went to pick Jenny up after my shift and she was gone. Someone had already picked her up."

"Haley?" Nathan tried.

"No, her sister said she's been crying in her room all day." Jake said, not intentionally trying to make Nathan feel guilty, but it was the truth. "Nobody else was supposed to pick her up. I was meant to and she was just gone!"

Nathan couldn't really read what Jake was feeling right now. He guessed it was a mess

Of anger, frustration, worry and determination. Jake was quickly feeling those same symptoms seeming in as he thought of the little girl gone missing.

"Wait, I thought you told the daycare people not to let Nikki anywhere near Jenny. That when a tall, brunette girl with eyeliner came asking for Jenny, they'd call you." Nathan reminded him.

"Yeah, but it wasn't Nikki. They said that she was a blonde and she said I had an emergency so she had come to pick her up. I have to call the police." Jake rushed inside his home to get the phone and try to fix this mess. Momentarily forgetting about his plans to meet Brooke, he followed his friend, determined to be there for him in his time of need.

-----

She tapped her feet impatiently as thirty eight minutes turned into thirty nine.

Either Nathan's car had broken down, he forgot his phone and was now stranded in the middle of the road… or she'd been stood up. By her own brother.

Frustrated and a little humiliated for having sat at the same table for the past forty minutes without ordering any food and looking like a complete loser, Brooke dialed in Nathan's cellphone number and planned some very mean things to say to him.

When he picked it up on the eleventh ring, something in his voice told her that something had happened. He quickly filled her in on the situation and all of the bad things she wanted to say about him were replaced by Jake and his daughter.

She promised she was on her way and gathered up her belongings as quickly as she could, trying her hardest to simultaneously remember what car level she'd parked in.

She ran into Lucas almost straight away. She was partly-annoyed and partly-relieved to see somebody she knew.

"Brooke?" he questioned as he saw her panic-stricken face. "You okay?"

"Jenny was taken from her daycare." She explained as she pressed the elevator buttons, willing the lift to hurry up and take her to the car park.

"I'm coming with you." He resolved.

"Lucas…"

"I'm coming with you." He said firmly. She didn't argue with him and the two bundled into the elevator when it came, their personal situation being the least of their concerns.

-----

Peyton tugged her jacket closer to her body as she shivered slightly in the November breeze. She looked at Nikki who was playing happily with Jenny as the three of them sat in a hidden spot in the park.

"Only an hour, right?" Peyton said, repeating what Nikki had said earlier.

"Uh huh."

"And then we give her back to Jake?"

"I guess."

"Nikki…" Peyton seemed nervous now. After Nikki had attempted to take Jenny from the daycare the first time, and be turned away, she'd enlisted Peyton's help. Or rather Peyton had suggested the idea. She knew Jake was working until five in the afternoon, so half an hour before; she'd turned up at the daycare and sweet-talked them into letting her take Jenny under the guise of Jake sending her because he was going to be too busy at work. Since she didn't fit Nikki's description and Jake occasionally sent other people to collect Jenny from the daycare, they'd let her go.

Peyton had tried her hardest not to run or seem too suspicious; loading Jenny into her car and driving down to the park where Nikki was waiting.

The hour was almost up.

"Come on, Nikki, it's getting dark. Jake must have been to the daycare and found out. Can we take her back now?" Peyton was nervous. She knew what she'd done was mean and probably breaking the law.

"Just a couple more minutes." Nikki said as she made a face to Jenny. "Oh hey, I think Jenny's coat was left in your car. Do you mind getting it? She looks a little cold."

Peyton nodded and made her way to her car, which was parked at the edge of the park. She noted how quickly the temperature had dropped. The sun had been shining brightly when they'd arrived in the park and now it was dusk. She poked around the back of her car and searched for Jenny's jacket, finally finding it under one of the seats.

She ran quickly to where she'd left Nikki and Jenny… only to find them gone. At first she thought maybe she was at the wrong part, but then she spotted Jenny's pacifier left on the bench table and went into a full panic.

Nobody was going to be pleased about this.

**To Be Continued…**


	13. Yesterday Was Easy

_I'm so sorry, you guys. I keep forgetting to update and it's mostly due to school work and life getting in the way. If it were up to me, I'd spend all day writing but instead I have to spend my days reading and writing essays._

_Another reason this is so late is because I had difficulty writing it. It was so hard to try and get it typed and coherent and I am still unsatisfied with it. This is kind of a filler chapter to be honest because the stuff that comes after this is something I'm looking forward to more. But this needed to come before the next chapter so it's finally written, so I hope you enjoy it and hopefully the next chapter will be updated quicker.. _

**Chapter Thirteen: Yesterday Was Easy**

When Brooke and Lucas arrived at Jake's house just over twenty minutes later, Haley was sitting tentatively on the couch in the living room. Despite the initial awkwardness that transpired from their arrival, no greetings passed between any of the individuals. Nathan did glare at Lucas momentarily but a look from both Jake and Brooke made him rethink his priorities. After all, this was no time for vendettas or causing further problems… even if Nathan thought that this whole business was nothing to do with Lucas.

Haley looked up with both surprise and relief washing over her when Brooke walked in. She seemed very jumpy and Brooke noted how puffy and red her eyes looked – though she suspected that it wasn't wholly due to Jenny being missing. However, she didn't ask because she'd made contact with Nathan earlier this afternoon, not Haley; and whatever had caused her to look so tired and haggard could wait for a moment more suitable than this one.

"Did you call the police?" Brooke blurted before she could say anything more coherent.

"Yeah, they're sending someone here to take a statement and the details so they can start investigating." Nathan answered for Jake.

"Do you know if it was Nikki?" Brooke asked, questions running into her head by the mile.

"At this point, it could be anybody. I just want my daughter back." Jake sighed heavily. When the doorbell rang, Nathan was first to stand and go to open the door, letting the two policemen enter the house.

"Jake," Nathan called out as he led the cops into the living room.

"I'll go make some coffee," Haley excused herself into the kitchen immediately, going straight into Haley-hostess mode.

"Mr. Jagielski?" the first policeman looked between the two remaining men in the living room – Jake and Lucas.

"That's me." Jake made a motion with his hand and the policemen turned to him, introducing themselves as Officer Taylor and Officer Greene. "Are you out looking for her?"

"We're going to do the best we can, Mr. Jagielski, but first we need information. When was the last time you saw her?"

"This morning when I dropped her off at day-care."

Brooke left the living room to go check on Haley and see if she needed any help in the kitchen. She could hear the girl sniffling by the sink and Brooke's instincts were to go towards her friend. Before she could even move, Haley turned around and noticed Brooke, seeming startled with her appearance.

"Um, the kettle is still boiling. I'll bring the coffee out in a minute."

"Haley, the coffee doesn't matter. I don't think anybody's thirsty." Brooke didn't mean it to sound the way it came out but it was too late to apologize for it now.

"Maybe the cops want some." Haley shot back, her defenses building up in front of the girl who had rejected her efforts of friendship up to ten minutes ago.

"That's not what I meant. I just thought that you shouldn't feel like you have to make coffee at a time like this." Brooke tried again. Haley sighed and leant against the worktop as if it was the only support she had.

"I know that, Brooke, but the last twenty-four hours have been really tough and I don't even want to be here in this house or with these people. All I want to do is crawl back into bed and cry, but I can't. So now I'm making coffee. I don't _care _if nobody drinks it, but I have to do it because if I don't I'm just going to break down right here in this kitchen and Jake doesn't need that right now." Haley's voice began to crack and Brooke was sure that the girl would truly have a breakdown.

She stood idly for a moment and then reached to open the cabinet above Haley's head, pulling something down. Haley looked at her and Brooke shrugged.

"Jake takes two sugars," she explained as if it was something Haley already didn't know. Though she let Haley get on with making the coffee, Brooke remained in the kitchen, doing whatever she could to keep herself busy. Partly to keep an eye on the girl, and partly because she too needed something to occupy her until she knew how else to help Jake.

"This is the most recent picture," Jake showed the officers a picture of Jenny with Nathan and Haley that had been taken almost three weeks ago. The officers looked at the photo and nodded.

"That should be sufficient enough. We'll make sure that if anybody matching your daughter's description turns up at the station, we'll let you know."

Lucas' cell phone began to ring loudly in his pocket and Nathan gave him a glare. Excusing himself, Lucas answered the phone in the hallway, surprised to hear his sister on the other end.

"Peyton? Are you okay?"

"Where are you? You're not at home!" Peyton cried.

"I'm at Jake's house. Jenny's gone missing."

"Oh my god," she seemed to sound extremely distressed at this news.

"Wow, I didn't know you cared that much. I though you hated-"

"I think I know where Jenny is." Lucas stopped when he heard those words. "Nikki took her."

"And how do you know that?" her brother asked, afraid to know the answer.

"Because I helped her do it."

"Peyton!"

"I know, I'm sorry." Peyton sniffled over the phone. "She said she only wanted to see Jenny for an hour and Jake was stopping her from doing it. I figured that I'd help her out but before I knew it… she just left!"

"Do you know where she is now?"

"No." Peyton replied honestly. It seemed like Lucas didn't believe here.

"Get here." He demanded.

"Lucas, don't make me. I can't face them."

"You're going to have to, Peyton. This is your fault. Jake's going crazy!" Peyton knew Lucas was right and reluctantly agreed.

"Can you not tell them until I get there?"

"And let Nikki drive even further away? I've got to. The police are here and, unlike you, I don't want to commit a felony." Lucas hung up the phone, turning around to find Nathan standing behind him.

"Anything you want to tell me?" he asked.

-----

Peyton arrived to face a living room full of questioning and disgusted expressions. Even though Lucas was pissed at his sister, he felt he had to protect her, and so when she was led into the living room to talk to the police, he put a reassuring hand on her shoulders.

"Are you Peyton Sawyer?" one of the cops asked. She nodded. "We're going to have to ask you a few questions. Let's go to the police station."

"Wait, you're going to take her there?" Lucas asked as Officer Greene moved to usher Peyton out of the house.

"She's a suspect in a possible kidnapping."

"She didn't do anything! It was Nikki." Lucas leapt to her defense.

"Nikki is the mother, am I right?" the Officer asked Jake, who nodded. "Do you have sole custody of the child?"

"No, but Jenny's lived with me most of her life. Nikki ran off when she was pregnant and left Jenny on my doorstep. I haven't seen her since."

"But she is here now?" Officer Greene's partner asked.

"Yeah, she showed up maybe a couple of weeks ago. She could have been here even before then."

"Has the mother asked to see her daughter?"

"Yeah, but there's no way that was going to happen." Jake scoffed at the idea.

"Do you have anything that says Nikki is not allowed to have custody of the child? No court rulings?"

"No, I don't, she just left her on my doorstep and skipped town. Look, are you going to go after Nikki or not?"

"Mr. Jagielski, we can't do anything about your daughter if she's been taken by her mother."

"Mother? Nikki might be her biological mother but she doesn't act like one. She abandoned her child. She's not fit to be a mother." Jake ranted at the officer.

"We can only do something if there's a chance Nikki could harm the child?"

"I guess not. She just wants to get back at me." Jake admitted honestly. The officers nodded.

"Mr. Jagielski, at this point the only thing we can do is question Miss Sawyer, get as much information as possible and if – after 48 hours – Jenny is not returned, we'll pursue the matter further."

"So that's it? What if Nikki crosses state lines?"

"We'll put out an APB on anyone who matches Nikki or Jenny's description. If Miss Sawyer can tell us enough information, we might be able to find her quickly. This isn't a kidnapping or a missing person's case until a ransom comes through or after 48 hours. Then we'll investigate it further. That's all we can do right now."

"Do I still need to go to the station?" Peyton asked, "because I'd really rather not. I'll co-operate but don't make me go down to the station."

"If Peyton's got any information, I want to hear it," Jake told them. The officers nodded and asked if Brooke, Lucas and Nathan would move into the kitchen, where the atmosphere was less than welcoming. Nathan shifted as far away from Lucas and Haley as possible, while Brooke was left to stand somewhat awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"I can't believe Peyton would help Nikki take Jenny," Haley mused aloud after a silence of ten minutes had passed.

"I can." Nathan made no apologizes for his tone or his attitude.

"I'm sure she has a reason." Brooke offered. She wasn't Peyton's biggest fan and she joined Haley's disbelief – but she wasn't prepared to quickly condemn the blonde. She knew more than anybody the way Nikki had with people and how she had manipulation down to an art. She was sure that with the right words, actions and reasons, Nikki could have persuaded Brooke to do something stupid. She had succeeded once or twice.

"So the police aren't going to do anything?" Haley asked, "Nothing? We've got to wait four days before they start looking? They could be long gone by then."

"They might make an exception," Lucas offered. "Jenny's still a baby. They've got to do something."

"When Nikki ran away, we had to wait two days, remember?" Brooke reminded Nathan. "Two whole days because she was old enough to take care of herself and it was her own free will."

"Jenny didn't exactly have a say in whether Peyton stole her from daycare and handed her to Nikki." Nathan commented, following it with a sigh. "This is crap."

Upon hearing the front door open and shut again, the four emerged out of the kitchen to see Peyton sitting on the couch and Jake with a fist hurtling towards the wall.

As his hand connected with a loud bang, Brooke and Haley immediately reacted, the latter running into the bathroom to fetch a first aid kit. Brooke grabbed Jake's arm to stop him from doing it again and urged him to sit down.

"They won't do anything." Jake complained loudly. "They said that they'll wait until morning because Jenny is young, but they're not clear on Nikki's intentions. If she's not back by then, they're going to start looking."

"That can't be right!" Nathan cried, "I watch cop shows. They always go after the missing people like two hours after they've gone."

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, Nathan, this isn't exactly a TV show." Jake shot back.

"Is it broken?" Haley asked as she returned with the first aid kit, "Your hand, I mean?" Brooke inspected it.

"No, I think it'll just be bruised. Come on, Jake, I know this is tough, but you can't go breaking down on us. Jenny needs you. We'll get her back." Brooke reassured. To back up her point, she looked up at the others, who quickly agreed.

"I can't believe Nikki would do something so low." Jake shook his head and then glared at Peyton. "You had no idea? None?"

"I'm not lying when I tell you I thought she only wanted an hour with Jenny. If I'd known what she was planning, I'd never have agreed to it. I am so sorry." Peyton sniffled and Nathan rolled his eyes.

"Right, because Nikki is so trustworthy," he commented, his arms crossed stubbornly across his chest as he spoke to her. "This is ridiculous. I'm not waiting for the police to stop sitting on their asses while Jenny's with that psycho. I'm going to go out find her." He resolved.

"I'm coming too," Jake stood up, hopeful now that there seemed to be something for him to do. "Nikki won't get away with this. Not this. Once I find her, I'm going to kill her."

"Jake…" Haley winced at his words.

"I'm not kidding, Hales, I'll kill her. Just you wait."

"I'm not letting you go on your own like this," Brooke jumped in. "Jake, you've got to calm down. I hate what's happened too, but don't go when you're so angry. You won't be thinking clearly, and neither will you, Nathan. I'll come with you both. That's the only way to stop you guys from doing something stupid." Brooke brought out her car keys. "We'll take my car."

"Hey, wait, I'm coming too." Haley piped up.

"And me." Lucas joined in.

"I got Jenny into this mess," Peyton added, "I'm coming with you."

"Six of us can't fit into one car," Haley noted.

"So, we'll split up. We might cover more ground and have more chance of tracking her down." Nathan looked around. "How many cars do we have?"

"I've got mine and there's Jake's." Brooke said, "Peyton's is here too."

"So we pair up?" Lucas asked.

"I'll go with Jake." Nathan said.

"No way. You two won't let Nikki get away alive."

"And you want her alive?"

"Only so she gets the punishment she deserves." Brooke replied. "Look, I'll go with Jake, Lucas goes with Peyton, and Haley and Nathan."

"I…" Haley began, "I'd rather not go with Nathan." Brooke frowned. "Not to be difficult, but I just think I'd be more comfortable with Jake or even Lucas."

"Okay, Haley and Lucas, Nathan and Peyton and me and Jake?"

"Don't you want to go with Lucas?" Haley asked Brooke.

"Not really."

"I'm not getting into a car with Peyton."

"I don't either."

"How about Nathan and Lucas?"

"No way!"

"It's not like I want to go with you, either."

"What if Peyton went on her own?"

"And help Nikki get further away? No thanks."

"Listen, Peyton's already apologized for what happened so how about we cut her a little slack."

"Easy for you to say, Lucas, this doesn't even have anything to do with you. Why don't you and your little sister go home and let us deal with your mess."

"Guys, can we not fight?" Haley tried to intervene between her ex-boyfriend and the blonde.

"We're not going anywhere. You need all the help you can get. Besides if either Peyton or Brooke is involved, then I'm involved."

"Like you were with Nikki?"

"That was a long time ago."

"I made a mistake, Nathan."

"Your family makes a lot of mistakes when it comes to Nikki, huh?"

Jake grinded his teeth throughout Nathan and Lucas' fight – his temper beginning to rise with each word that was exchanged. Finally, he snapped.

"Listen," he cried as he stepped between the two. "I don't care who doesn't like who right now. My daughter is missing and we're going to find her. So could you all just shut up for like two minutes and help me?"

His plea was met with a guilty silence and the four nodded, ashamed of their actions.

"Somebody needs to stay here in case the phone rings," Haley suggested.

"I'll stay," Peyton offered. "You guys obviously don't want me around seeing as I got you all into this mess…" Nathan snorted and Brooke nudged him with her elbow. "I'll stay and keep an eye on the phone."

"Nice try, Sawyer, but I don't trust you. What if Nikki does call, how can we trust you to pass on the message and not help her?" Nathan pressed, doubting Peyton's intentions.

"She won't do that," Lucas stood beside his sister.

"Why not? She did it before. Like she said, she's the one that got us into this."

"I'll stay here and make sure it doesn't happen. You can trust me." Lucas promised, earning another scoff from Nathan. "Look, you don't have to believe me, Nathan. Clearly you don't trust me or Peyton," he continued before shifting his gaze towards Brooke, who stood next to her brother. "Brooke… come on, you know you can trust me. I'll make sure that anything we hear is passed on to you straight away. We wouldn't put Jenny at risk like this."

Brooke didn't seem too convinced, and Nathan especially was hoping that she wouldn't play into their hands. He gave her a look that suggested that maybe it was best if the Sawyers had nothing to do with helping them find Jenny. After all, they hadn't exactly displayed the best judgment when it came to Nikki.

"I wish I could believe you…" she began.

"Please, Brooke." Lucas pleaded. "Trust me just this once."

Brooke sighed. "Fine, you can stay and keep an eye on the phone. Any messages, any calls, call one of us. Anything, okay?" Lucas and Peyton nodded as Brooke scribbled down all their cellphone numbers on the notepad next to the phone. "Promise."

"We promise." Lucas and Peyton said simultaneously.

Brooke looked from the two twins to her own brother, Haley and Jake. "We should go. Haley, you go with Jake. I'll stay with Nathan." She said finally. Jake looked as if he was ready to burst through the door, and once everything was arranged, he was the first one to grab his keys and cellphone, ready for action.

As they were on their way out, Jake suddenly remembered something and ran back into the living room, pulling out a photo album.

"Jake…" Haley urged, "what are you doing? We have to go."

Jake said nothing as he pulled out a recent photograph of Jenny and an old one of him and Nikki.

"Here. Use these. It'll be quicker than trying to describe the two of them." He said, handing one to Brooke and Nathan, and then keeping a set for himself and Haley.

The two teams split the town in half and decided who would take which half, as well as checking out the places Nikki liked to hangout or may have disappeared to. None of them talked about what they'd do if they couldn't find her. Even Peyton and Lucas were convinced that Nikki or Jenny would show up soon.

The only thing they could rely on what that this was Nikki's attempts at playing a game with them, and that she wasn't serious about taking Jenny out of Tree Hill, or even out of the state.

**To Be Continued…**


	14. Unadulterated Loathing

_I'm so sorry for the long delay. I got very distracted with life and school and this took longer than I wanted it to. Sorry!_

**Chapter Fourteen: Unadulterated Loathing.**

"Well?" Lucas demanded, "What the hell possessed you to help Nikki kidnap Jenny?"

"I don't know." Peyton sat on the couch, her hands either side of her, holding onto the smooth fabric.

Her brother sighed. "As far as excuses go, that's not even half of _one_. What were you thinking?" he questioned again.

"Lucas, I don't know! She just-"

"You knew what Nikki did to them. You _knew _what she was like because I told you about it. Brooke told you too!"

"I was sick of Brooke talking to me like I was beneath her or a five year-old kid."

"Are you surprised? She was trying to prevent this from happening. Geez, Peyton, you could get arrested for pulling something like this!"

"It's not my fault. Nikki told me she'd only wanted an hour with her. Besides, those daycare workers are the ones who gave Jenny to me! I think the deeper issue here is the lax in security there."

"This is on _you_, Peyton. Whatever's coming to Nikki will come - but you had your part to play too." He walked towards the armchair in the corner and sat down on it, facing Peyton.

"The way she said it- it sounded like a good idea at the time. Nikki told me all this stuff about Brooke, Nathan and Jake and I just wanted to get them back."

"For what? They've done nothing to you. Just because you don't like Brooke doesn't mean you help plot to kidnap someone's baby."

"I didn't think she'd run! She just said she wanted a couple of hours to play with Jenny. She said it wouldn't be kidnapping since we'd return her to Jake later."

"You believed that crap? She's a liar. Do you ever use your brain?"

"The same can be said for you, okay? Which brain were you using when you were sleeping with her?"

"How did you know about that?" he mumbled. Peyton rolled her eyes.

"She told me. I thought maybe it was a lie at first but then you confirmed it. Were you thinking?" she asked.

"That was a long time ago. I was drunk, I didn't know her story. It still doesn't make what you did okay."

"Well when what you did with Nikki becomes okay, then you can lecture me." Peyton spat out at her brother before walking out of the room.

-----

"It's a left up here, I think," Brooke said directing her brother as he drove. He glanced at her before making the turn. She was looking out of her window, chewing nervously on a nail.

"You don't want to do that," he advised; the first words he'd spoken to her since they'd sat in the car.

"Huh?"

"Don't bite your nails. You'll only regret it later. Besides, you've only just got them done."

"How do you know when I get my manicures?"

"Every three weeks like clockwork."

"Every two weeks now." Brooke told him. "My nails haven't been a main concern recently." she added. He dipped his head guiltily, knowing that sooner or later they were going to have to talk.

"I'm sorry." He said finally. "I know I hurt you and mom and dad. I'm just really sorry."

"Okay." Brooke nodded, accepting it with an eerie calmness.

Then she punched him hard on the arm.

"Hey, what was that for?!" he cried. "I just apologized."

"And that's what you get. Although you might expect a lot more from Dad when you get home." She told him, frowning.

"I know. I'm thinking about camping out at Jake's for a while longer." Brooke glared at him, "or not."

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" Brooke asked. "I mean, what made you suddenly decide to pick up the phone and call? I thought you were the one who didn't want to speak to me."

"I thought about some stuff."

"Oh."

"And then I broke up with Haley."

"Oh."

"She went back home, after I told Jake about Lucas sleeping with Nikki." He stopped. "Wait, did you know about him and her?" he added, wondering if he'd revealed something she didn't know.

"Yeah, I know." She turned away, "It's no big deal." She took a deep breath and turned back. "So what did Jake say about it?"

"He got mad… at me. And he kind of threw me out."

"That explains why you wanted to make up all of a sudden."

"Brooke, it's not like that." Nathan began.

"It kind of is, though, isn't it? You lost Haley and Jake, so you thought you'd call up your sister and try and patch things up. You just wanted a roof over your head again."

"No, I wanted my sister back again."

"Whatever," Brooke said before punching him in the arm again.

"Ow!"

"That's for breaking up with Haley, by the way."

"I thought you wanted us to break up."

"The engagement, you doofus!" she replied before looking back at the road, "Turn right here and then take the third left."

"Geez, I can't please anyone."

"What happened between you guys anyway?" Nathan shrugged.

"Between Nikki coming back and this whole drama, I just began to realize that maybe Haley and I were rushing things. And that I didn't want to hurt her. I still want to marry her, Brooke; I don't think that will ever change. When I look ahead I just see that. But I also see you and mom and dad in the picture. I didn't want to create this split. I was just so mad at Dad for not seeing in Haley what I see in her and after the way everybody reacted, I guess I was disappointed and took out my anger on everyone by pushing you away."

"Well, you did that." she sighed.

"It really hurt, you know."

"What did?"

"You. And the way you were. I know we hurt you, but seeing you push us away too? I never thought I'd see that happen. I mean you're my sister. I need you. Especially now." he sighed. "I don't know what to do with Haley. She's so upset, she needs someone. She needs you, and Jake needs you… and I need you." Brooke put her hand on his.

"We'll fix it together." She promised. "Let's just take this a step at a time."

-----

"Jake, slow down," Haley advised the young man that seemed to be driving faster than his mom's station wagon could go. "I know you're worried about Jenny but killing us both isn't going to help her."

"If Peyton had just… I never should have left Jenny alone. I knew-"

"You couldn't have done anything. Nikki planned this; it's not your fault."

"That daycare was a bad idea."

"What's the alternative? You miss school and drop out? That's not fair on you or Jenny. You're doing the best you can. Nobody is to blame but Nikki… and Peyton."

"She must be so scared." He said as his thoughts drifted back to his daughter. Haley shuffled nervously in her seat as she kept looking out for any sign of Nikki or Jenny. She hoped that somehow everything would suddenly fix itself because with the way things were going lately, she wasn't sure how she or her friends could pull through.

Haley silently said a prayer as she and Jake slowly drove through the nearby neighborhoods, each street seemingly emptier than the last. She knew that the darker it became, the less likely it was that they would be able to spot either of the girls. She knew that suggesting letting the police handle it would be the last thing Jake wanted to hear, but she was sure that they weren't going to make any progress. As much as Haley loved Jenny and wanted to find her, she knew deep down that Nikki's determination to hurt Jake would prevail.

No matter how much she wished it wasn't true.

-----

"And even though I really love Haley, I can't help but feel I hurt her more by asking her to marry me. It just seems as though everything started to unravel when Nikki flew into town on her broomstick." Nathan continued.

"Pull over!" Brooke said.

"What?"

"Pull over, pull over!" She pointed towards a bar that they were approaching.

"Is this it?" Nathan asked as they pulled up.

"Yeah."

"We've been to four different bars, three clubs and six motels." Nathan glanced at his watch, "It's almost ten. If we don't find her here, we should head back." Brooke gave a nod as she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car. She kept close to Nathan as they made their way to the front of the bar.

"This is where Nikki first told me she was pregnant." Brooke told Nathan. "She didn't want to go to any of our usual places. She was really upset. I don't think I've been back here since. I almost forgot it existed."

"Are you ready?" Nathan asked Brooke, taking hold of her hand. She offered the tiniest of smiles to let him know she was but the way she clutched his hand betrayed the truth of her apprehension. "Come on."

The two walked into the smoke-filled bar. Brooke stifled a cough and struggled to let her eyes adjust to the dim-lit space in front of her.

"Do you want to split up?" Nathan asked over the booming music. Brooke shook her head and pointed towards the bartender.

"Excuse me," he called the bartender, who ignored him at first. "Hello! Hey!" Nathan clicked his fingers a few times but it appeared that the bartender could hear him – or didn't want to. "Hey, buddy-"

"Excuse me!" Brooke's voice cut in and the bartender's attention was immediately on her. "I was wondering if you could help me."

"Sure thing," the bartender grinned at her. Nathan glared.

"Have you seen a girl come in here? A little taller than me, green eyes, brown hair, kind of evil?"

The bartender thought about it for a moment and shook his head. "There are tons of girls like that who come in here. What is she wearing?"

"I don't know." Brooke sighed in defeat, realizing she hadn't seen her at all that day.

"She might have had a baby with her." Nathan added.

"Oh, her? Yeah, she's in the back somewhere. I told her babies weren't allowed in but she didn't seem to be bothered. I think her kid is in the car."

Nathan and Brooke exchanged looks.

"I'll get Jenny and call Jake." Brooke said, pulling out her cellphone.

"I'll get Nikki." Nathan decided. His sister pulled on his sleeve.

"Stay calm," she warned. He gave a shrug, "Nathan, I'm serious. Let's just get Jenny and get out of here. We'll save us a whole lot of trouble."

"And let her get away with it? Look, I can't promise anything. Just make sure Jenny's okay." He told her. Brooke reluctantly let go of his sleeve and watched him disappear into the clouds of smoke as he searched for her. After a moment, she turned on her heel and bolted towards the door.

------

He found her attached to some guy's lip. He would have laughed if he wasn't so mad at her, so instead he picked up the bottle of beer on the table in front of him and tipped it over her head. She shrieked and pushed the guy off her, screaming curses. Once the guy caught sight of Nathan, he lunged for him but Nathan dodged in time and let him fall to the floor.

"Hey, what the hell?" he questioned, glaring at him. "Who are you? Her boyfriend?"

"God no," Nathan replied. "But I've got a score to settle so if I were you, I'd leave before you catch something." The guy seemed to think about whether he should confront Nathan further or leave. Fortunately, he picked up his own bottle of beer and left the area.

"What the hell are you doing here, Scott?" Nikki asked as she wiped down beer from her hair.

"You damn well know what I'm dong here." Nathan shot back. "Did you actually think you could jump town with Jenny before we caught up with you?" he scoffed, "I should have known you wouldn't have gotten far without needing to whore yourself around. Four hours since you took her and you barely made it out of Tree Hill. It's pathetic."

"Oh shut up, Scott." Nikki rolled her eyes. "Besides, the kid is perfectly safe."

"Jenny is sitting in your car. Who knows how long she's been there."

"I cracked open a window."

"It's freezing cold out there. She could have frozen to death." Nikki sighed.

"I don't really feel like a lecture. I'm just going to get my baby and get out of here since you want me gone so bad." Nikki stood up only to be stopped by Nathan.

"You're not going anywhere with her." He told her.

"You and what army? Look where you are. You're here berating me rather than being out there with Jenny. You hate me more than you love her."

Nathan declined to say anything and let her meander he way through the crowds in the bar and step outside. He waited for her reaction when she saw Brooke holding Jenny in her arms.

"What…" Nikki looked between Brooke, Jenny and her car. "How'd you get her?"

"You left your door unlocked, you idiot! It's a miracle nobody snatched her from here. She was shivering when I got to her." Brooke spat back, tears glazing her eyes as she remembered the way Jenny had been shaking. Now the girl in her arms seemed content, if a little cold, to be with Brooke.

"Give her back to me." Nikki demanded, arms outstretched for her daughter.

"No way, Nikki. That's it." Brooke took a step back, towards the car she and Nathan arrived in. "You are not getting her back. She's staying with me."

"You're not her mother. She has nothing to do with you." Nikki told Brooke, stepping towards Brooke again. Nathan stepped in front of her.

"I don't think so."

"I'll start screaming, I swear." Nikki warned, "I could call the police. They'll arrest you in a second. I don't care if your dad is the Mayor of this stupid town. I'm her mother; they'll give her to me."

"Not if we have anything to say about it. And don't worry, the police already know about you. You can expect a patrol car here in a few minutes." Brooke told her. When they heard the sound of an approaching vehicle, they all turned their attention to the road. Instead of the patrol car they were waiting for, Jake's car rolled up towards them and Jake and Haley came running towards them.

"Great," Nikki muttered under her breath. "The whole cavalry is here!" she yelled. Jake thundered towards her and had to be held back by Haley and Brooke. Jake's first action was to check over Jenny and was only satisfied when Brooke told him that Jenny was okay and smiling. He placed a quick kiss on his daughter's forehead and turned back towards Nikki.

"What the hell are you playing at, Nikki? Are you completely insane?!" Jake yelled at his ex, waving his hands frantically at her.

"Oh, come on, like you didn't know it was going to happen. She's my daughter too."

"No," Jake pointed a finger at her, "No, she is not your daughter. You gave all that up when you abandoned her. Mothers don't do that."

"I'm still her mother. I'm the one that gave birth to her; I'm the one who carried her for nine months inside of me; for six months after that. Just because you've had her for the last year does not make me any less of a mother." Nikki retorted.

"But years from now when she looks at her photo albums she won't see you. You won't be the one holding her hands and teaching her how to walk. You won't be standing there with a birthday cake. She won't remember you, and for her sake, I'm happy about that."

"Oh, you want to hurt me? Give it your best shot. This isn't about Jenny, Jake. You don't want me to have her because I hurt you. I never once hurt my daughter. I'd never hurt her." She promised but Jake simply laughed in her face.

"You know what, Nikki, I've spent two years lying awake at night thinking about you and wondering where you were. What you were doing or who you were with. I wondered if you even thought about Jenny. I wondered if your heart ached the same way mine did when she wasn't with you. I thought you'd come back. I actually thought you would come back for her... or for me. But then I began to realize that you are just a horrible, horrible person. You don't care about anybody else. It's just Nikki. You don't care about your family, the people you supposedly love, your friends... why would you care about Jenny?" he asked the face that had haunted him for months. Nikki shook her head.

"So I'm a cold heartless bitch, huh? I couldn't possibly care about anybody?" Nikki buried her face in her hands. For a moment, all the anger Jake was feeling began to seep away. But then she stopped, wiped her face and looked up at him and his friends. "Fine. Let me be a bitch. But I'm a bitch that is coming back, Jake. I'm not leaving. I'm going to keep coming back and I'm going to get her Jageliski. I'll haunt you. I'll make your life hell until she's mine because she's the only thing I have left to care about. Be warned, I'm not leaving at all." She promised.

Nikki spat at his feet and stormed off towards her car, shooting looks towards him, Nathan and Haley. She gave a glance towards her daughter who was being held in Brooke's arms. Brooke moved back again to protect the infant. She opened her car door and sat in the driver's seat, turning on the engine and leaving the four standing dumbfounded in her wake.

"Jake..." Nathan began as her car careened into the distance.

Jake pulled out his car keys and rushed to his own car.

"Wait, Jake, what are you doing?" Nathan asked.

"She's right, Nathan. She's not going away." Jake opened the door next to the driver's seat. "She's been in my life way too long. I'm not going to let her do this to me and Jenny. I'll run her out of the state if I have to. This ends tonight." He said, determined to not to let her ruin his life any longer. They watched as Jake slammed the car door and started the engine, speeding off after Nikki.

"Nathan!" Brooke called her brother, breaking his attention from the speeding vehicle. "Go after him!" He reached into his pockets to fish for his keys but then stopped. "Nathan?" Brooke prompted when she noticed his hesitation.

"No." Nathan said. Brooke frowned.

"Because he..."

"Because somebody could get hurt." Haley interjected, similarly confused with why Nathan wasn't going after him. "You have to stop him before he does something to Nikki. He's really mad, Nathan. We can't let him just run her out of town."

"So? Why not let him go after her? He's right, this has to end. Every single one of us has thought about running her sorry ass out of town before; it may as well be Jake. He's the one who's been hurt most out of all this. He needs this."

"You can't really think that, can you?" Haley knew Nathan hated Nikki but she couldn't believe that he'd be so unbothered by the fact that she was currently being chased by an agry Jake.

"All I know is that our lives are much better without her. Why should I help her?"

"Because-" Brooke's answer was interrupted by a screeching of tires in the distance and then a loud crash.

The three looked between them and thought the same thing; that it came from the direction Jake had followed Nikki into moments earlier.

**To Be Continued...**


	15. When We Collide, We Break

_I can't believe it's been a month since my last update. I wrote the bulk of this in two days after some major reworking of the chapter. I wasn't intending for it to go this way but it did. _

_Just a note that I'm moving on the 15th to California and so don't know when my next update will be. Hopefully it'll be up as soon as I get settled in but for now, see you all! xxxx_

PS: The stuff in _italics_ are all flashbacks about Jake and Nikki.

**Chapter Fifteen:**** When We Collide, We Break**

"_I'm pregnant."_

_Jake stared dumbstruck at his girlfriend of eight months. When she had come over unannounced at one in the morning, he had thought it was a late night booty call. _

_He wasn't expecting this. In fact he would have believed she was coming to tell him she was running away to join the circus faster than he would have believed this. _

"_Aren't you going to say something?" she questioned. Her bottom lip was quivering. Jake rarely saw Nikki like this; in tears, vulnerable – what was that in her eyes? Fear? _

"_Did—__how—does Brooke know?" he finally spluttered out. She shook her head._

"_Nobody knows. I came straight here after taking the test—"_

"_Did you see a doctor?" _

"_Not yet." She paused, "Jake, what are we going to do?" she asked him. Suddenly Jake felt the responsibility being shifted onto him, she was looking at him for answers, despite the fact he was nine months younger than she was. _

_Nine months. _

_It dawned on him that he'd be a father in that short a time. _

_How was he going to cope? What would his parents say? And school? There would be no way he could possibly be a father before he had graduated. _

"_We… we get rid of it," was the only solution he could think of. Even he couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth. She looked taken aback, as if she was surprised by Jake's directness. _

"_Yeah…" she said but her voice betrayed her true feelings. _

"_If you don't want to—"_

"_No, it's the best thing. You're right." She barely sounded convinced. "I'll do it tomorrow."_

"_It's late. I've got football practice early tomorrow morning. We should talk about this tomorrow when we've slept on it and had time to think." He suggested. As if he could even think coherently anyway. "Sleep here tonight." He told her; unsure of whether she should drive home in the condition she was in and so late. _

"_No," she was certain about that at least. "I don't want to. I'll just go home."  
_

"_Nikki—"_

"_I'll see you tomorrow, Jake." She told him, turning her back to him and moving towards the door. He knew that they shouldn't leave things this way. That she needed reassurance, help, and most of all, him. But he was barely sixteen. _

_He didn't stop her. _

-----

The smell of smoke and gasoline filled the air. After the squealing of the tyres and the sound of the vehicle connecting with the tree, it was silent.

Jake couldn't move.

His legs were numb, his fingers felt like they were gripping onto ice and his head was spinning.

He thought about Jenny and knew one thing.

It was the end.

-----

Nathan hadn't driven this fast before. The car itself seemed as if it has a mind of his own and he had to concentrate as much as he could to keep his hands on the wheel, his palms feeling clammy and legs shaking as he raced as fast as he could to reach Jake.

His eyes barely left the road, and the split seconds that he had looked elsewhere was in the rear-view mirror to check on Jenny, the child who was being held ever so tightly by a Brooke that was trying her best not to cry or cause any distress to the girl.

Even without looking at her, he knew Haley was in pieces. If he wasn't so intent on finding Jake then he would have held her in his hands and kissed her until she could breathe again. Instead he let his hand lightly brush hers as he reached for the gearstick. Through the corner of his eyes he saw her seem to sigh in relief.

-----

"_I'm going to keep the baby." Nikki said. The __previous night she had looked so scared and fragile, but now she was sitting on his bed and studying Jake's algebra homework. _

_Jake looked at her. "I thought you said you were going to… you know, get rid of it." He whispered the last part. He had barely seen her all day and then she'd turned up at his door in the early evening. They hadn't talked about it yet. He thought that she'd bring it up when she wanted to. It had taken her ten minutes. _

"_I know… but I thought about it and I figured that I really want to be a mom. I think I could be a good mom." __She said. Jake held back a snort. Yes, she was a faithful girlfriend and he knew that she wasn't as bad as everyone thought she was. At least since they'd been dating. But he knew that her wanting to be a mother at seventeen was a ludicrous idea._

"_You're seventeen." _

"_Plenty of people do it." She argued, "And they do it well."_

"_You're not one of them." He retorted. _

"_Jakey," she sighed, "you can be as involved as you want to be. But my mom did it. My cousin is barely twenty and she has two." She shrugged, "You're not going to change my mind about this. I'll be a great mom."_

-----

"Someone… some… someone help!" the cry, though faint, was filled with pain. "Jen-" A cough. "Help!"

"Nikki?"

"Jake? Jake! Get me out of here. Jake!" Nikki scrambled around her body, trying to pull herself free. "Jake!" She caught sight of his figure approaching her in the moonlight. A bloodied and dirtied hand reached up for him but he withdrew. "Jake, what are you doing?"

"Nikki…" he shook his head.

"What? Get me out of here!" Anger clouded her eyes.

"Your… your leg." His fingers shook as he pointed towards where an object had implanted itself into her leg. Nikki barely could make the object out before she fainted.

-----

"I see him," Nathan told the girls as the headlights of his car made out a figure waving the car down. "He's alive!" Haley squinted through the darkness. As Nathan's car came to a halt, the three rushed out of the car, Jenny still held in Brooke's arms, and ran towards him.

"Are you okay?" Brooke asked, concerned about her friend. She gingerly touched the temple of his head, sticky with blood. "What happened?"

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "I just remember driving really fast. She was in front of me and then… there was a crash and I tried to stop, but then… nothing." He glanced behind him at the wreckage. "I think I hit a tree or something."

"We called the emergency services," Haley told him as he lifted Jenny out of Brooke's arms. "How's Nikki?"

"I…" he shook his head and then groaned in pain when Jenny inadvertently kicked him. He handed his daughter back to Brooke.

"Is she dead?" Brooke questioned. Behind them Nathan had already made his way towards Nikki's car. "Nathan?" she asked.

"There's so much blood." A hand flew up at his mouth and he made his way back to the group. "We've got to get her help. Both of you." He glanced at Jake. "You don't look so good."

In the near distance they heard the wail of sirens and they all stood huddled together in a group, waiting for help.

-----

"_I think we should get married." Jake told her. She laughed at his suggestion. _

"_What?"_

"_I was talking to Nathan…"_

"_You talked to Nathan?"_

"_Yeah."_

"_He couldn't have been much help. He hates me." Nikki crossed her arms over her chest, a small bulge starting to protrude from her stomach. She was five months pregnant now. _

"_I know and he was the one telling me not to do it but… it worked for his parents. It could work for us."_

"_Do I look like Karen Freakin' Scott?" she raised her eyebrows and Jake shook his head with a chuckle. _

"_I'm not saying that. You turned eighteen last week. I just need permission from my parents and then we can get married—"_

"_This isn't the 50's, Jake, you don't have to marry me because you 'got me into trouble'. I can take care of myself."_

"_You don't want me there?"_

"_I'm not saying that. I'm saying you can be involved as much as you want to be. No pressure."_

"_What if… what if I want to get married?"_

"_Why would you want to marry me?"_

"_Because I love you."_

"_Jake…"_

"_I do, Nikki. I know you're older than me and we're still so young but I know we can make it work."_

"_It's not a good idea."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Money for one. Your parents would hate for you to marry me. I can't cook."_

"_It doesn't matter."_

"_I don't love you."_

"_You don't?"_

"_We've only been together little while. I thought this was… I thought we were just kidding around."_

"_For eight months?"_

"_I'm sorry, Jake. I guess I don't fall in love as easily as you do."_

-----

Brooke, Nathan, Haley and Jenny sat in the hospital waiting for news. Nikki had been rushed into surgery and Jake had been taken in for a check-up with police officers following them both in. But he'd been gone almost an hour, and now they were beginning to worry.

"Do you wonder if…" Haley began, "things will be different now?"

"Now what?" Nathan asked. Neither had spoken much since they'd left Jake's house and even in the hospital, when everybody needed each other, there seemed to be an unsurpassable wall between them. Even though it seemed the fallout from their break-up had softened while they'd been in the car, they still kept the distance, preferring to focus on Jake and Jenny.

"Now Nikki…," she paused and shook her head, "Nothing. Don't worry."

Brooke stifled a yawn. Jenny hadn't left her arms since they left the accident site and, though she was more than content to be with the girl, she had to admit she was beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Brooke, maybe you and Haley should take Jenny home." Nathan suggested. Brooke shook her head.

"I want to stay."

"Me too." Haley agreed. "But I think Jenny should be taken home. She can't stay here."

"Jake would want to see her." Brooke concurred as the two police officers that had been at Jake's house earlier approached the group. Nathan and Haley immediately stood up while Brooke stayed seated as she didn't want to wake Jenny up.

"You can all sit down," Officer Taylor motioned at the pair, "Is that Jenny?" he asked. Nathan nodded.

"Yeah. Is Jake okay?"

"Mr. Jagielski is fine. After he's discharged, he's going to be taken to the station so we can take further statements." He explained.

"The station? Why?" Haley asked.

"Mr. Jagielski is just going to be questioned so we can find out what happened. Would it be alright if we asked you some questions?"

"Why—" Nathan began to protest but was stopped by Brooke.

"That would be fine." She said.

"After myself and Officer Green left, I understand that the four of you; that's Mr. Jagielski, Miss James and Mr. and Miss. Scott," he nodded towards them, "decided to go look for Miss. Jageliski yourselves. Is that correct?" They nodded. "You all split up?"

"Yeah, I was with Brooke and Haley and Jake drove together." Nathan explained.

"Who was it that found Miss Madison and the girl?" Brooke and Nathan raised their hands. "Where was this?"

"At the Red Sun bar. It's about two miles from where the accident took place." Nathan explained.

"At this time, what was the state of Miss Madison?" The officer questioned.

"She had been drinking. We found her inside; Jenny was in the car – which was unlocked, by the way." Nathan spat out.

"So you could say that her actions and judgement were impaired?"

"Of course."

"When did Mr. Jagielski arrive?"

"About five minutes later."

"And what was his reaction?"

"He was mad. Wouldn't you be?" Nathan asked. The officer didn't answer.

"Did Mr. Jagielski threaten Miss Madison at this point?" Nathan shook his head.

"No, not at all. They fought, verbally," he clarified, "but he never threatened her."

"So why did he chase after her?" The question was met by a pause. "Mr. Jagielski admitted he said, and I quote 'I'll run her out of the state if I have to. This ends tonight'. What do you think he meant by that?" More silence. "How about when he left? Was he in any state to drive? Had he been drinking?"

"No, of course not."

"But he was angry?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think that your friend could have been so angry that he could have hurt Miss Madison, even unintentionally? Or maybe driven carelessly, even driven her car off the road?" Nathan, Brooke and Haley looked at one another.

"Look, Jake was mad, we won't deny that. But he didn't cause the accident." Haley said. "I know Jake. He could never do anything like that."

"Can we see him?" Brooke asked. "He's going to want to see Jenny." The officers exchanged glances.

"Is there anybody who can look after the child?" Officer Green asked.

"We've called Jake's parents. They're away but they said they'll come down as soon as they can." Haley replied.

"Are there no grandparents or other guardians?"

"No, they live in Florida which is where his parents were vacationing. His nearest relatives are in Savannah." Haley added.

"We'll look after her," Brooke said. Nathan and Haley looked at her. "She'll know us better than Jake's cousins." Officers Green and Taylor seemed uneasy with the situation.

"You're all seventeen. We can't leave her in your guardianship."

"Jake will be out by tomorrow anyway, right?" Brooke asked.

"Actually… we're not sure. It'll take as long as we can find out what caused the crash."

"But we told you—" Nathan started again but Brooke stopped him again.

"If I called my mom and got her to agree to it, will you let us take her home then?" Brooke asked. The officers reluctantly agreed.

"I'll call." Brooke said, knowing that her mother and father were still on the outs with Nathan and Haley. Neither of them knew that Brooke and Nathan had reconciled, although to Brooke it had seemed like they'd been back together for weeks. She handed Jenny over to Haley and left the officers and her friends.

As she made her way to the payphone, a doctor came out and beckoned to the police officers. While they were deep in discussion, Nathan stole a glance at Haley and Jenny. After the events of the day, he wasn't sure quite what they were going to do when they got out of the hospital. It was already too much to ask for Jenny to stay in the house, especially as Dan wasn't a fan of Jake or the child. Haley probably would go back to her parents' house and that left him. He knew that he had a lot to apologise for and that it would take a lot for him to fully be placed back in his parents' good graces. He didn't even know if things had completely been smoothed over between him and Brooke.

When Nathan looked back at the doctors and officers, he found that they were gone.

-----

"Mr. Jagielski?" Officer Green strode into the room with his partner and the doctor following behind. Jake looked up as he slipped his shirt on over his bandaged ribs. He was lucky to have only got away with some cuts and bruises. Nothing had really been too badly damaged, but his ribs had taken a beating.

"Is Jenny still here?"

"Your daughter is fine. She's with your friends."

"Can I see her?" he asked. He still felt a little dizzy but he thought that might have been the pain medication he had been put on.

"Your daughter will be staying with Miss Scott and her parents."

"But I can take her home tomorrow when I come home, right?"

"Mr. Jagielski," the officer paused, "Nikki Madison died ten minutes ago while in surgery. The coroner is going to do a full autopsy as soon as he can and then we can ascertain the cause of death. But for now we have no choice but to arrest you on suspicion of manslaughter or intention to cause harm." He pulled a pair of handcuffs out. "You do not have to say anything…" he began reading him his rights but by then Jake was still stunned by the news.

Dead? Was it all over?

"Mr. Jagielski, is there anything you'd like to say?" Officer Green asked. Jake shook his head.

"Is she really gone?" Jake asked. He nodded.

"Yes, she's gone."

-----

"_She's gone."__ Brooke came running into Jake's house. Her face was flushed and she was out of breath from running from Nikki's house all the way to Jake's. "She didn't even leave a note for anyone. Her mom's going crazy."_

"_How can she just leave like this?" Nathan asked. "Did she say anything to you?"_

"_No!" Brooke replied, "The last thing she said was that she hadn't studied for the history test we have at third period. She said nothing."_

"_What is she thinking? She's five months pregnant__."_

"_Did you call the police?"_

"_Yeah, but they can't do anything for forty-eight hours since she's eighteen now and something about her own free will or something."_

"_Did you say she was pregnant?"_

"_Of course I did!"_

"_And they're still not doing anything?" Brooke sighed, "What if she gets hurt? Or what if she was kidnapped?"_

"_Kidnapped?" Nathan laughed, "By who? Nothing's happened to her, she can take care of herself. This is just her being selfish because she's just a who—"_

"_She's scared! She's not selfish."  
_

"_I've said this from the very first day I saw her. She thinks of no-one but herself. She got you in trouble plenty of times, why don't you ever listen to me?"_

"_That's so unfair for you to think that…"_

_Brooke and Nathan's voices faded into the background and Jake sat on his couch deep in thought. _

_She was gone. _

_The woman carrying his child was gone. _

_He wasn't sure if he'd see her again, or if he'd ever see the product of their love—wait, no, she never loved him. _

"_Jake? Did anything happen yesterday?" Brooke asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. _

"_Uh, no."_

"_Nothing? You guys didn't fight or…"_

"_He said nothing happened!__"_

"_Oh were you in the room?" Brooke snapped at Nathan. _

"_Nothing happened," Jake said firmly standing up from his seat and making his way to his room. _

"_See what you did!" he heard Nathan tell Brooke. _

_Once locked in his room, he looked around. Jake lay down on his bed and gently touched the spot on it where, the night before, Nikki had been sitting when he proposed to her… and then had broken his heart. _

_He wondered and hoped that she'd return, but something deeper told him that she really was gone. _

_He hoped that wherever she had gone, she was happy, and that their child would be raised with __more love than he'd ever felt towards Nikki. _

**To Be Continued…**


	16. I'm Holding On Your Rope

**Chapter Sixteen: I'm Holding On Your Rope**

Brooke and Jenny walked down the hallway together. The little girl was now awake and slowly making her way back towards Nathan and Haley under the watchful, if tired, eye of Brooke. Haley greeted the girl with open arms and scooped her up into her arms, pleased she was awake so that she could distract herself from the awkward silence that she and Nathan had been sitting in.

"I called Mom," Brooke announced, "she's going to talk to Dad first."

"What did you tell her?" Nathan asked.

"Everything, mostly. She's glad we're okay but a little mad we never told her before. Do we know what's going on with Jake now?" she questioned.

Nathan shrugged, "I don't know. The doctor came out to talk to the cops and then they went back into his room. We haven't seen or heard anything since." He explained as Brooke nodded and sat between her brother and Haley. She and Haley kept themselves occupied with Jenny until Nathan spotted Jake leaving his hospital room with the two officers behind him.

"Jake!" Nathan immediately stood up and made his way to his best friend; Brooke, Jenny and Haley following close behind. "Are you okay? What's happening?"

Upon seeing her father, Jenny threw her arms out to him and Jake raised his hands to reach her. The metal handcuffs and the officer beside him prevented him from doing so. His friends stared at his handcuffs.

"Jake…" Brooke whispered.

"Nikki's dead," Jake said. "I've been arrested."

"Why? You didn't do anything." Nathan proclaimed.

"I know," Jake agreed. "But until they find out what killed her..." he bowed his head. "I don't know what to do."

"Your parents are on their way," Haley reassured Jake.

"And Jenny's staying with us." Brooke added. "You'll be fine. I'll get my dad to call up some lawyers and we'll get you out as soon as possible. Trust me, by tomorrow you'll be back where you belong."

"Mr. Jagielski," Officer Taylor prompted. "We really should be going now."

Jenny began to cry, not understanding why her father wasn't holding her anymore. Haley struggled to calm the girl as she saw Jake being led away.

"Jenny, it's okay," she reassured, "He'll be back soon. Shhh, Jenny." No amount of coaxing would silence her cries.

"She's tired." Brooke said, herself stifling a yawn.

"Come on, we'll go home." Nathan said grabbing his jacket from the chair. "There's nothing we can do for Jake now." He hated saying those words about his best friend, and hated even more knowing that there was really nothing they could do; at least not until the morning.

-----

Nathan decided to stop at Jake's place first so that Brooke could collect some of Jenny's belongings to take home. Meanwhile Nathan would drop Haley home and then pick Brooke up and take her and Jenny home.

It was only when they pulled up to Jake's house when they realized that Peyton and Lucas were probably still in the house waiting for them to call.

"I totally forgot about them," Brooke said.

"Do you want me to get rid of them?" Nathan asked.

"No, it's fine. I'll tell them what happened and tell them to go home. I'm not in the mood for fights."

"What would make you think I'll start a fight?" Brooke looked at him.

"Maybe because every single time the two of you are in the same room you turn into five year olds?" she shook her head. "It'll be fine. It's late anyway. You should get Haley home."

"I can call my dad if it'll be easier." Haley said.

"No," Nathan told her, "it's not a problem." Brooke glanced between the two and realized this was probably going to be the first moment the two would be alone since their breakup.

"Um, are you going to be okay?" she asked.

"Sure." He nodded confidently and offered his sister a smile. "You should go. I'll be back as soon as I can." Brooke nodded and gave both Nathan and Haley an encouraging look before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting herself and Jenny out of the car. Nathan made sure that Brooke was in Jake's house before starting the engine and driving Haley to her house.

-----

When Peyton and Lucas heard the front door unlock and push open, they rushed to the hallway unsure of what to expect. The two had spent hours in the house. They'd ordered pizza, watched a little bit of TV, fought a lot and eventually descended into a silence while they waited for news.

"Is everything okay?" Lucas asked when Brooke and Jenny came through the door. The exhaustion on Brooke's face was evident.

"Uh…" Brooke rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know."

"You found Jenny?" Peyton asked as she saw the little girl. "Where was she?"

"At some bar." Brooke answered. "Nathan is just dropping Haley off home." She added when she saw Lucas looking outside for the others.

"Where are Jake and Nikki?" the blonde questioned. Brooke looked at them for a moment before beginning to cry. Lucas wrapped his arms around her while Peyton took Jenny from Brooke's hands and held her.

"Jake chased after Nikki after we found her at the bar and there was an accident. Nikki was badly hurt and she died at the hospital. Jake's at the police station."

"The station?" Peyton frowned before her eyes widened. "Wait, they don't think-"

"I don't know. It's all happening so fast. We can't do anything until tomorrow."

"Do you need us to do anything?" Lucas asked. Brooke shook her head.

"No, you guys have done enough. Thanks for staying. We totally forgot you were here otherwise we would have called." She told them. "I'm just here to pick up some of Jenny's things. She's staying with us until Jake's parents get in or he's released."

"We could help…" Peyton began.

"It's fine. You should go. I just want to go home and sleep. I'm sure you both do too." She gave them both a hug. "I'm sorry for dragging you both into this," she said, seemingly forgetting Peyton's role in the drama. Peyton nodded and excused herself so she could get their belongings and give Lucas a chance to talk to Brooke.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to stay – at least until Nathan gets back? I mean, Nikki just died and even though you had your differences I know that you were friends. Not to mention Jake's situation." He looked concerned.

Brooke shook her head. "I can do this by myself. He'll be back soon. Besides, I really haven't had time to process it all yet. Some alone time might do me some good."

"If you need me, you know where I am." She nodded.

"Thanks Lucas."

Peyton came back from the kitchen with her bag and Lucas' jacket. "Are you okay?" she asked Brooke, who nodded once again and ushered the two out of the door.

Once alone she gave Jenny a sad look and went to look for her things.

-----

Nathan and Haley pulled up to her house and sat in silence, listening to the engine purr before Nathan turned it off.

Silence.

He figured he may as well get used to it.

"Look," he cleared his throat, "with everything that happened tonight, I think I should tell you how sorry I am about what happened between us. I know it's tough."

"Jenny lost her mother tonight," Haley told him sternly, "and our best friend is sitting in a jail cell. I think that whatever juvenile drama we went through is pretty much pointless now."

"Yeah," he nodded guiltily.

"I thought things couldn't get any worse than they were when you broke up with me. I guess I was wrong. The truth is, I would go through that pain for the rest of my life if it would get Jake out of jail and with Jenny." Haley sighed. "It just seems so unfair. Jenny's going to grow up without a mom and if Jake goes to jail, without a dad too."

"Nikki was never a mother to Jenny," Nathan argued. "She abandoned her!"

"She may not have been the best mother but it still doesn't mean it's good that she's dead."

"I didn't say that!"

"But you're glad she is dead."

"No!"

The former couple let out angry sighed and groans of frustration.

"So is this how it's going to be between us? Sniping at each other? We can't stand to be in the same room as each other anymore?" Nathan asked.

"And whose fault is that?" Haley shot back. "It's fine for you. Jake's still going to be your friend and Brooke is your sister. I'm the one who lost friends through this."

"They're still going to be your friends!"

"Like Nikki was your friend?"

"You didn't get pregnant and run away. You didn't drag Brooke to bars and get her in trouble. You didn't sleep with Lucas. You're not like Nikki. We're not going to let you go anywhere. Like it or not, Haley, I want to be your friend. Dating didn't work out but we can be friends, right?"

Haley shrugged. "I don't think I can. Nathan, I put so much into this relationship with you. I left my home for you and broke off my friendship with Brooke - then at a moment's notice you just turn your back? I don't get it."

"I wish I could explain…"

"I don't need you to explain. I need you to leave me alone. We barely broke up two days ago and now this happened. There are bigger things happening here, Nathan. We have to put aside our differences and help Jake and Brooke through this. Even though they hated Nikki, part of them still loved her."

"I wouldn't be so sure…"

"You don't fall out of love with someone after they've acted like an ass," Haley told him pointedly. "You just move on."

"So is that what we're doing now? Moving on?" Nathan questioned.

"Maybe not right now but soon." Haley sighed. "I don't want to talk about this now. Thanks for taking me home."

"It's fine."

"I'll see you tomorrow." She said politely as she let herself out of the car and walked the short distance to her house. Nathan watched for a few moments before starting the engine and making his way to Brooke.

-----

"Are you ready?" Brooke asked as they pulled up to the Scott mansion. Nathan blanched.

"Nope." He looked at the house. "Are you sure I have to go? I can stay at Jake's."

"And hide out there for the rest of your life? No, you're coming inside."

"Dad doesn't even want to see me. Brooke, I left. I can't come crawling back. Dad will be pissed."

"So? You're part of this family whether you like it or not. You've gone up against Dad hundreds of times before. Think of how happy Mom will be to see you. She's missed you." His sister held his hand tight. "Let Dad be pissed. You're not leaving again."

Nathan sighed and nodded his head. As he walked along with Brooke and Jenny to the house, he realized just how big it really was. The basketball court he spent endless hours training on seemed daunting now and when Brooke pushed the doorbell, he braced himself.

Nathan was relived when his mother opened the door. Her eyes instantly widened and on her face a smile formed. She looked at Nathan lovingly, tears springing to her eyes at the sight of her son. Brooke looked on with a grin. Making her mother happy was something she loved to do. Karen had the most amazing smile and everyone said that it was a trait that had been passed onto Brooke.

"Hey Mom," Nathan said giving his mother a hug. For a moment it seemed as if Karen wouldn't let go but eventually she released him and held a hand to his cheek.

"Nathan. I'm so glad to see you." She pulled the trio inside the house and closed the door behind them.

"Oh no," Dan Scott's voice said as he approached the group. "I only agreed to take in one bastard, not two."

"Dan!" Karen was shocked that he'd describe both his own son and Jake's daughter in such a way.

"Dad." Nathan's greeting was somewhat stiff. Dan crossed his arms.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"He's coming home." Brooke told her father firmly.

"Really? And where is the little woman that he left this family for?" Nathan looked at the floor. Dan snorted. "I thought so. The second things get difficult you come running back to us. That's what we call 'cowardly', Nathan, and I thought I had taught you better."

"Stop it!" Nathan yelled at his father, startling Brooke, Karen, Dan and Jenny. "Dad, my best friend is sitting in a jail cell for trying to protect his daughter. Whatever happened between me and Haley and me and you is irrelevant. I'm not here because of you. I'm here because this little girl needs me, because my sister needs me and because Mom needs me. You're not scaring me away." Nathan took Jenny from Brooke's arms and held her. "How's that for being cowardly?"

Dan was momentarily speechless and as Nathan walked triumphantly away, he only managed to stutter "Well, I wouldn't get too comfortable!" before sulking back to his study.

Brooke glanced over at her mother who was far from worried. In fact, she was grinning from ear to ear. Wrapping an arm around her mother, Brooke gave her a brief hug.

"Thank you for bringing him back, Brooke," Karen told her daughter. "It's about time this family was put back together."

Brooke nodded. "You're telling me." But Karen noted the slight glimmer of concern in her daughter's eyes.

"I'll call our lawyer tomorrow. Jake is innocent and we'll make sure he and Jenny's family will be put together again. Don't worry about it tonight." She placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead and the two followed Nathan into the living room.

**To Be Continued…**


	17. It's Gonna Hurt When It Heals Too

**Chapter Seventeen: It's Gonna Hurt When It Heals Too**

Brooke lay wide awake in her bed. She had returned with Nathan and Jenny in the early hours of the morning and despite the long hours of the day, she found it difficult to fall asleep. Thoughts of her friends, particularly the one occupying a jail cell, swam around in her mind despite how much she tried to forget them for the night and sleep.

Finally she pushed the covers off her body and got out of bed, sighing and rubbing her eyes in frustration. Resolving to do something other than think about Jake, she found decided to go to her father's office and find a book from his large collection. She wasn't a huge book reader but she thought that maybe something long and boring might send her to sleep or at the very least give her something to focus on.

As she ventured out into the hallway, Brooke noticed that light was streaming out through the bottom of Nathan's bedroom door. Thankfully that somebody else was awake, she tip-toed to his doorway, gently knocked and pushed open the door. She grimaced when the brightness of the light hit her eyes and she rubbed them again. When her eyes adjusted to the change in light, she saw that Nathan was sitting up on his bed and was feeding a bottle to Jenny.

"What are you doing up?" she asked as she made her way towards them.

"Jenny was being fussy. I was just trying to put her back to sleep." He explained as he glanced at the clock and saw how late it was.

"Want help?" she asked hoping that he'd give her something to do.

"No, I'm good, but you can stay and keep me company if you want." He told her. She nodded and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Couldn't sleep?" Nathan questioned. She shook her head.

"No. You either?"

"No." he shook his own head and looked down at Jenny. Brooke followed his gaze and sighed gently.

"What's going to happen to Jake?" she asked. She knew that Nathan probably didn't know but being a few minutes older than her made her feel like he could have the answers.

"I don't know." He answered honestly.

"Do you think he did it?" Brooke asked the loaded question tentatively.

"Of course not." Nathan's response came quickly as if he had anticipated the question. However when he glanced up at her, his confidence seemed to slip. "What about you?"

"No." But Brooke looked down at her hands as she said it.

"He's our friend, Brooke. We know him. He couldn't - he wouldn't - do anything like that." Her brother reasoned with her, more so trying to convince himself than her, it seemed.

"I know." She gave an encouraging nod before yawning.

"It's been a rough couple of days, huh?" he asked, noting how tired she looked, especially from the events of the day.

"It's been rough longer than that, Nathan." She told him, making him aware of what they had all gone through over the course of the last few weeks.

"Yeah." He nodded, knowing his role in all of that.

"I'm glad you're back though. I don't think I could have been apart from you and Haley when Jake was going through this."

"I'm sure Lucas would have helped-" Brooke let out a frustrated groan.

"Nathan, don't start that again. It's late, I'm tired and Jake's in jail." She snapped at him. She didn't want to get into a fight about_Lucas_. Not now.

"I know. But I mean it. I'm not saying that I like him or like you hanging out with him but... he really pulled through for us. For _you_. Whatever his history was with Nikki or whatever his sister does, he's not completely bad." He sounded genuine but it seemed Brooke wasn't totally convinced by his words.

"Yeah." She said quietly.

"Did he hurt you? The stuff about him and Nikki, I mean." He questioned. Brooke knew that Nathan's feelings about Lucas would never change and he'd always hate him but she also knew that she couldn't have gotten through her estrangement with her brother and friends without him. She knew Nathan would be more than willing to punch Lucas' lights out for her if she just said the word.

"A little." She cleared her throat and caught Nathan's gaze. Brooke sighed, "Okay, a lot. But compared to you, Jake, Haley and Jenny; all of that is irrelevant now. It's not like he and I were anything. We were just friends."

"Were?"

"_Are_. We're just friends." She cleared her throat and changed the subject. "I'm glad you're home."

"I'm not sure that particular sentiment is shared by our father."

"Oh, he'll come around. Mom and I are glad to have you back. Maybe things will start getting back to normal around here." She said optimistically. Nathan looked down at Jenny knowing that things couldn't possibly be normal unless Jake was reunited with his daughter.

"Hopefully," he commented.

"I don't want to go to school tomorrow." Brooke said after a while.

"Then don't." Brooke gave her brother a look. "It's Sunday." He explained and they both grinned.

"Good, but I still don't want to go to school on Monday." She yawned again.

"You should go to bed," Nathan told her. "You're exhausted."

Brooke didn't like the idea of going back to her room and being alone.

"Can I just stay here?" she asked. Nathan chuckled and gave a nod. Brooke offered him a grateful smile and lay down on the bed. Within minutes she was asleep. Nathan looked at both his sleeping sister and the infant that had also fallen asleep. He smiled a little and put his head down on the pillow on the opposite side to Brooke, making sure that Jenny was safe between them.

He turned off the light and finally fell asleep.

--

Hours later, after the Scott twins and Jenny were well-rested; they sat in the kitchen and watched Karen attempt to feed the small girl. Brooke laughed as another piece of banana entered and then left Jenny's mouth immediately.

"Mom, I don't think she likes bananas," she told her mother who looked both frustrated and amused.

"Oh, all babies like bananas."

"I didn't!" Nathan said.

"Well you were a difficult baby." She huffed before finally giving up.

"Here," Nathan took Jenny out of his mother's hands and then picked up a piece of banana. "I'll show you how it's done." Both Brooke and Karen watched in amazement as Nathan managed to get the banana to stay in Jenny's mouth long enough for her to chew and swallow it.

"That both scares and amazes me," Karen commented. She found the scene sweet, of course; not many teenage boys could take care of a child, but also frightening to see how accustomed to looking after a baby her son was. She was glad that his engagement to Haley had been called off. She wasn't sure if she would be able to deal with her son becoming a husband or – heaven forbid, a father – at his age. Even if he seemed able to deal with it.

The doorbell rang and Brooke slid off her chair and went to answer the door. Her cheery mood faltered upon opening the door and seeing Haley standing on the other side. Brooke harbored some resentment towards the girl. Not a lot, but enough to make her worry that the happy morning she was enjoying with her mother and brother would be disrupted. Then again, she was happy to see her best friend at her front door, and more of her was sympathetic towards Haley's broken heart.

"Hey." Haley smiled but it was clear she was questioning her decision to come and see the Scott family.

"Hi." Brooke answered back. Haley thought that perhaps she needed to explain her presence when Brooke didn't say anything else.

"Uh, I couldn't sleep last night because of Jake. I wanted to call you and talk to you but I didn't know if you were asleep or if you wanted to talk to me. I know you and Nathan have made up and it's totally fine if you take his side and still hate me. I never meant to hurt anyone. I thought I was in love and-" Haley was cut off when Brooke stepped out of the house and hugged Haley tightly.

"I wasn't asleep. I wanted to talk to you too. I didn't choose Nathan's side and I don't hate you." Brooke said, mumbling the words into Haley's hair, afraid to let go in case she lost her friend again. Haley hugged her friend back, extremely relieved to hear those words. "Are you okay?" Brooke asked as she pulled back from the hug. She put an arm around Haley's shoulders.

"I'm okay." Haley gave a nod.

"What about you and Nathan?" Brooke frowned.

"I don't know. I'm confused and hurt about everything. But Jake and Jenny are important to me and so are you. So I'm here if you need me."

"Of course I need you. Jenny is a fussy eater. She doesn't like fruit!" Brooke said as she led Haley inside; her arm still draped over Haley's shoulders.

"She likes bananas." Haley said. "But only when Nathan feeds them to her." She stopped when they reached the kitchen and saw Nathan feeding bananas to Jenny.

Karen looked between Haley and Nathan and bit her lip. She wasn't quite certain of their entire situation other than that they had broken up. Nathan seemed to have been frozen in his seat, a banana wavering in the air and Jenny eagerly looking up at it, wondering what was taking so long. Haley broke her eyes away from him and looked up at Brooke who was standing next to her, an arm still slung across Haley's shoulder.

"Hey, why don't we take Jenny out to the park?" Brooke suggested. "I think she could use some fresh air."

"Sure, you girls go ahead." Nathan said as he fed Jenny the last part of the banana.

"I was thinking all three of us," Brooke added. "It might be fun. We can go visit Jake after."

"Uh…" her brother looked at Haley, awaiting her approval.

"You know, I think I'll just head home." She decided. Nathan looked hurt.

"Haley!" Brooke frowned at her friend's decision.

"No, you both should go. I'm… I just wanted to see you all." Haley turned to go but Karen stopped her.

"Oh, Haley, I was wondering if you could help me." She called out to the girl. "I want to make some of Jake's favorite cookies to take to him. Since you're the best baker I have, I thought you might like to help me."

Haley was not one to refuse Karen anything. As if to ease her, Karen suggested Brooke and Nathan take Jenny out. At least then Haley didn't have to be around Nathan when she clearly wasn't ready to be.

"I'll get the stroller." Brooke said. "Nathan, come help me." Nathan picked up Jenny and dutifully followed his sister, casting a lingering glance at Haley.

Haley watched him leave and only realized she was staring when Karen touched her shoulder.

"It'll be okay, Haley." She told her. Haley looked at Karen and gave her a small smile.

When Brooke yelled a 'goodbye' at them and shut the front door, Karen handed Haley a mixing bowl and retrieved the baking ingredients from the pantry.

"I was your age when I first had my heart broken." Karen began.

"I thought you and Dan were high school sweethearts."

"We were. He was the one who broke my heart." She said. "Three weeks before my birthday. I was so upset and angry. I didn't know why, he didn't seem to have a reason either and I think that was the worst part."

"What did you do?"

"I mostly cried. We had only been dating six months but I already knew I was in love with him. When we broke up, it broke my heart. I thought there was nothing more horrible than that feeling of confusion and that constant aching you get. Like you're always hungry and you've lost a part of yourself." She explained.

"Yeah," Haley tried to concentrate on measuring out the flour but her eyes misted and she couldn't see the dial on the weight.

"Haley…"

"You must hate me." Haley said to the older woman. "I made a huge mistake and because of me, Nathan left his home."

"Oh Haley," Karen pulled the young girl into a hug. "I don't hate you. Yes, I was angry and hurt by it but I could never hate you. I know you made Nathan happy and he made you happy. It pains me to see you both upset. I guess I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy about the engagement being called off. You have to understand, Haley, getting married at your age is just planning for disaster. There's so much that the two of you need to see, to do, and to know before you can commit yourselves for life. Did you think about college? How you were going to support yourselves?"

"My parents already gave me the lecture." Haley wiped the tears from her eyes.

"So you know that we're only telling you this before you make bigger mistakes. I was ready to marry Dan when we were in high school. He only had to ask, and I would have been his. But I knew that neither of us would have been ready. Even after high school, we weren't that ready, but at least we had diplomas and could make independent decisions. We got married when we were 19 and the first few years were so tough. I'm not saying that the first years aren't tough, because they are, but at least wait until you're both old enough to legally drink at your wedding." Haley chuckled and nodded.

"That's if we end up together." She said bitterly.

"I've seen the way he looks at you, and I know my son. He doesn't fall in love easily. Whatever the reason was, I know that deep in his heart, he thinks he's doing the right thing. If you love him and trust him, like you say you do, you should at least give him a chance to explain and forgive him. Maybe he just saved you both from a much bigger heartache down the road if there had been rings on your fingers."

**To Be Continued…**


	18. Ooh Child, Things Are Gonna Be Brighter

Chapter Eighteen:

_Sorry for the long delay in this. I kind of had no idea where this was going. Haha. Enjoy._

**Chapter Eighteen: Ooh Child, Things Are Gonna Be Brighter**

Two weeks later and Jake was still sitting in a jail cell. By this time, his parents had returned and Jenny was in their care but his friends made sure that they did every thing they possibly could to help his family. Brooke had been enthusiastic about busting him out of jail but Nathan was forced to put a stop to that plan when she rented 'The Great Escape' and Tivoed every episode of _Prison Break._

"He's not Wentworth Miller, Brooke!" he told her after the fifth time she watched the finale.

Instead they made visits to his cell whenever they could, bringing him various treats: Brooke baked for him and gave him the school's latest gossip, Nathan brought him magazines, and Haley slyly tutored him and brought him homework. Each of them took turns to babysit Jenny and give his parents a break. Due to the prison's rules about the amounts of visits per day and the numbers of visitors, they worked out a system that allowed him to see as much of Jenny as possible. Sometimes it was Brooke and Nathan with Jenny, or Brooke and Haley with Jenny. Sometimes they would go with Jenny alone. On occasion Karen visited him too. But Nathan and Haley would never visit Jake together.

Brooke had realized that instead of her brother and best friend becoming comfortable around each other, the opposite was happening. Haley would shoot Brooke panicked glances if she left the room and Nathan tended to not know what to say to Haley and leave the room anyway.

"I tried it last night. I got Bevin to call me and took the call out in the hallway and within seconds, Haley had bolted into the bathroom."

"Maybe she needed to go?" Jake offered as he offered Jenny his little finger. She grabbed onto it and let out a giggle.

"She had just gone to the bathroom two minutes earlier," Brooke sighed. "And then the other day, I hid behind the door and all Nathan could do in front of her was say 'uh' or fake a cough before he left! What do we do?"

Jake shrugged. "You can't force them to talk to one another. You should be grateful they're able to stay in the same room when you're all together."

"I guess. It's just weird. I'm not used to seeing them not able to talk to each other. The last time Haley acted like that, it was because she was crushing on him so hard, that she could barely speak."

"They'll work it out," Jake reassured her. "If you and Nathan did, and you and Haley did… they will too." He offered her a smile and she groaned. "What's wrong?"

"Me! Look at me complaining about Nathan and Haley and you're the one sitting here in the orange jumpsuit." She motioned towards his attire and he looked offended.

"I actually think I look kind of cool in this."

"Oh really?" Brooke found it hard to believe but Jake nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, look at me. I'm one of the cool kids. Everyone else in this place is wearing the same outfit. We're totally the T-Birds." He joked and it made her grin.

"How is the situation?" Brooke questioned.

"Slow. But I guess no news is good news, right?" he wondered aloud. "My lawyer told me they released Nikki's body so I should be hearing something soon."

Brooke shifted in her seat and was about to say something when a bell sounded from the speakers above them, signaling the end of visiting hours for the day.

"I guess that's my cue," Jake said as he got up from his chair. Brooke stood, pulling Jenny up with her. Holding the girl in her arms, she lifted her up so Jake could kiss her. "Who's bringing her tomorrow?" he asked.

"Nathan is going to come after school," she replied. "Oh, and if he brings you any of those degrading, misogynistic magazines of girls with no clothes on, tell him you're not interested."

"Why would I not be-" when he saw Brooke's glare, he nodded, "because they're degrading and misogynistic filth that, as a father and a young man, I am not interested in." He said somewhat sarcastically. Brooke rolled her eyes.

"Think if it were me or Haley in one of those magazines. Do you really want to see girls you regard as your sisters posing in that way?" He sunk his head guiltily.

"No."

"I thought so. Imagine if it was Jen-" Jake blanched when he understood where Brooke was going next.

"Okay, I get your point. I'll tell him. Goodbye Brooke."

"Bye Jake," Brooke said giving him a kiss on the cheek as the prisoners were led out. He waved at Jenny as he joined the rest of the inmates and disappeared behind the barred doors. Jenny seemed to be confused at why her father wasn't there anymore so Brooke gave her a hug. "Come on, girl. Let's get you back home."

--

"Hey honey, how was prison?" Karen greeted her daughter as she walked into the living room. "Oh, it's starting to scare me how used to that sentence I am."

Brooke nodded in agreement. "Scary and depressing." She sat down beside her mom on the couch.

"Any news?" Karen asked.

"Nothing much except Nikki's body has been released. I guess they don't need it anymore."

"That's good, right?" Brooke shrugged in reply and flicked through the TV channels. Her mother put down the book she had been reading and sighed. "Honey, I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine, Mom."

"You know you can talk to me."

"I don't want to talk about Lucas." Brooke snapped at her mother. Karen narrowed her eyes and looked down at her daughter. "I'm sorry for yelling." Her daughter replied guiltily.

"I wasn't talking about Lucas. I'm talking about Nikki." When her mother said the name, Brooke had the urge to leave but something in her mother's gaze told her that she wasn't going anywhere.

"What about her?"

"I know you two used to be best friends and I also know how upset you were when she left." Brooke remained silent. "Sweetheart, this is the first person close to you who's died."

"Mom-" Brooke pleaded for her mother to stop but Karen was sure that Brooke needed to address the situation. "She was a bad person; she tried to take Jenny from Jake."

"I know," Karen reached out at stroked her daughter's hair.

"She was a bad person when she was here and then she got pregnant and… I wanted to help her, Mom. We were supposed to be best friends and I was going to be there for her. But then she left and didn't even say goodbye. We were friends for years and she just disappeared."

"I remember, honey." Her mother nodded, remembering how Brooke had been upset for weeks after Nikki had run away.

"And when Jenny turned up, I secretly was hoping she'd be back too but she wasn't. So I started hating her because of what she took away from Jake and the fact that she just left her daughter there. What kind of person does that?" She looked at her mother for an answer but Karen didn't move. "The last thing I wanted was for her to come home again and she did, but she took Jenny away from Jake again and Lucas-" She stopped and sighed, putting her head on Karen's shoulder. "I wanted her gone so badly. Just out of our lives so we could just be happy again, but didn't want her to die… I just wanted her to go away."

Karen wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her tightly. It was too much for her to know her daughter was going through this. It was too much for any seventeen year old, Jake, Nathan and Haley, to have to go through. The last few months had been hard for all of them and Karen wished that somehow she could make it go away for all of them and let them have their childhoods back. At the same time she knew that these experiences would only make them stronger in the end. It was just painful to watch and feel completely helpless.

--

Haley twiddled a pencil between her fingers and tapped her knuckles on the biology homework in front of her. Brooke sat opposite her, engrossed in her chemistry homework.

"What's up?" Brooke asked when Haley sighed heavily.

"I don't understand this question."

"Let me look at it," Brooke said looking over at Haley's homework. The tutor let out a chuckle. "What?" Brooke seemed confused at her friend's reaction.

"You're going to help me with homework?"

"Hey, I know a thing or two!" Brooke rolled her eyes and Haley offered up her homework.

"It's question fifteen, at the bottom." Haley watched as her friend studied it for a moment and then passed it back to her.

"You're right, I don't know the answer either."

Haley laughed a little more until the kitchen door opened and Nathan strolled in covered in sweat from playing basketball in the backyard. She cleared her throat and looked back at her work. Nathan glanced at his ex-girlfriend and then came up to his sister, wrapping his sweaty arms around her and squeezing hard.

"Ew, Nathan, get off!" Brooke squealed in disgust, pushing her brother away. "That is so gross!"

Nathan just laughed in reply as his sister hopped off the kitchen stool and wiped at her cheek. Even Haley couldn't hide a smile. Brooke then stormed off to her room, yelling curses at her brother and leaving him and Haley alone in the kitchen. Determined not to make it awkward, Haley kept sitting where she was, demanding herself to be stronger.

"I thought she'd enjoy that," Nathan commented as he picked up a banana.

"Well, you know Brooke and her aversion to sweaty, smelly guys."

"Hmmm, so why was she friends with Lucas?" he said. Haley gave him a look.

"Okay, you can't still be hating Lucas."

"Why not?"

"Because he helped us when Jenny went missing."

"Yeah, because his sister was the one who stole her."

"Nathan, if Brooke could forgive them, why can't you?" Haley questioned. Nathan looked at her.

"Why can't you forgive me?" He asked before he really knew what he was saying. Haley's good mood dropped and she instantly felt uncomfortable being in the same room as him.

"Clearly it's too soon for us to be-" She stopped when she saw a shadowy figure at the backdoor. Nathan followed her eyes to the door and placed a protective arm in front of Haley. "Who's that?" she asked in a whisper.

"Stay back," Nathan instructed as he slowly went to the doors and prepared to open it. He glanced back at Haley before opening it a little. He stood staring at the person on the other side and Haley wondered who it was before the door opened wide and Jake and Jenny strolled through the door.

"Jake!" Haley couldn't help from jumping into her friend's arms, almost knocking Jenny out of Jake's. Fortunately Nathan was on hand to take the girl before Haley could do any real damage.

"It's nice to see you too, Haley." Jake laughed. "Can I come in now?" He asked. Haley stepped back and let him come into the kitchen where Haley reached up and hugged him again. Nathan handed Jake back to Jenny and gave his friend a hug too.

"What- when?" Haley stuttered, not knowing quite where to start.

"In a minute, Hales." Jake scanned the room, "Where's Brooke."

Before either could answer, Brooke's angry voice was heard from down the hall.

"Nathan, you're such a fu-" She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the new arrival. Her mood shifted from anger to confusion to surprise and suddenly she was running towards him and Nathan lifted Jenny back out of Jake's arms so that he was free to hug his other friend. "Oh my god!" Brooke squealed as she hugged Jake tightly.

"What- when?" She said before adding, "You're here!"

"Yeah, man. How'd that happen?" Nathan asked.

"Well the coroner and investigators came back with their reports. Nikki died because of her injuries sustained in the crash, which was no fault of mine. She'd been drinking and she just lost control. Or so that's what my lawyer explained to me." Jake said.

"When did you get out?" Haley questioned.

"This afternoon. I came straight here after my parents came to get me. They brought this little angel with them and I wanted to see you guys."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Brooke asked, punching him lightly on the arm. "We thought you were still sitting in a jail cell."

"Fortunately, I'm not and I'm here and I'm just so glad to see all of you and be able to walk down the street and sleep in my own bed again. And not take a shower with nine other guys." He added.

"It's good to have you back." Nathan said sincerely.

"Good?" Brooke said, elbowing her brother. "This is fantastic! We are so going to have a party."

"No, Brooke, I don't want a party." Jake said. Brooke pouted. "I just want to spend some time with my best friends in the world and my daughter."

"Can we still have cake?" Brooke asked hopefully.

"Yes, we can still have cake." When he nodded, she clapped her hands together excitedly and turned to Haley.

"Haley, get baking!" She said. Haley rolled her eyes and pulled her friend into the kitchen with her. "Hey, I can't bake." Brooke protested.

"Learn then!" Haley placed a bag of flour in Brooke's hands and turned her towards the scale.

Jake and Nathan watched in amusement and then looked at each other.

"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking?" Nathan asked.

"Xbox?" Jake said. Nathan nodded. "Let's do it."

**To Be Continued…**


	19. You Can Count On Me Like 1, 2, 3

_I suck. I was meant to post this up two weeks ago but I fell behind. The next chapter will be the last. _

**Chapter 19: You Can Count On Me Like 1, 2, 3**

Karen Scott looked at the group of teenagers that had invaded her home. Haley was trying to teach Brooke how to bake a cake, but so far most of the ingredients were on both the girls. The sound of Brooke's giggles brought a smile to Karen's face. It had been too long since she'd heard her daughter laugh as much as she had now all of her friends were reunited. A yell from Jake in the living room brought Karen's attention to the two boys who were currently engrossed in their video game. She shook her head as her son and his best friend fought over who had cheated.

"Mom!" Brooke's voice called out from the kitchen. "Come look what I made."

Despite the fact that Karen owned and ran a cafe, Brooke had not inherited her mother's natural ability at cooking.

"Lovely!" Karen complimented as she inspected the chocolate mix that Brooke was busy stirring. Brooke smiled proudly at her mother and then back at Haley.

"Haley says she'll teach me to make brownies next." Brooke replied. Haley blushed when Karen glanced at her.

"Well, you know, I learnt from you, Karen." She said modestly. Karen put an arm around the young girl and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Nonsense. Your brownies are much better than mine. I think you picked up a few things from your mother. "

"No, no. The recipe is all from you. My mom's brownies are nothing like yours. Even Brooke agrees." Brooke nodded at Haley's words.

"Brooke!" Karen was shocked. "I hope you've been polite when Lydia gave you the brownies."

"Oh, Mom, Lydia knows. That's why she hardly makes the brownies. She wants the recipe!" Brooke replied as Haley agreed.

"In that case, I'm willing to trade my brownie recipe if you ask your mom for her chicken soup recipe." Karen told Haley.

"I will definitely ask." Haley promised.

"Mom!" Nathan's voice prompted Karen to leave the girls and check in with the boys.

"Yes, Nathan?"

"Could you fix us a snack?" He asked before adding a quick 'please' when he saw her face.

"Of course. What would you like?" she asked. Nathan shrugged and looked at Jake. "Jake?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Karen." Jake said. She gave him a look that told him that he wasn't going to get out of it. "Um, a sandwich would be great."

"We'll make it, Mom!" Brooke's voice called from the kitchen. "Haley, get the bread." She heard her tell her friend.

Karen was silent for a few moments before smiling to herself and shaking her head.

"Okay, kids. I'll let you have the run of the house." She said as she took her coat from the coat rack by the front door. "I'll be back in a little while to start dinner. Enjoy yourselves."

She was greeted by a chorus of 'goodbyes' as she left her home with a big grin on her face. She didn't care what they got up to. What mattered most was that they were all together again.

Brooke and Haley sat in the kitchen as they contemplated on who was going to start cleaning up.

"We made a big mess." Brooke mumbled as she surveyed the scene. Haley sighed in agreement before stretching her arms out to relieve the tension in her shoulders. "I think we should make the boys clean up."

"I heard that," Nathan said as he walked into the kitchen. "I'm not doing it." Brooke and Haley groaned.

"But we cooked, Nate!" Brooke complained to her brother. "You guys did the eating."

"It's not like we let you starve, Brooke." He countered as he cut himself a small slice of cake.

"How can you still be hungry?" Haley questioned, receiving a shrug in reply. "Where's Jake?"

"He's putting Jenny down for her afternoon nap. He's really missed her. "

"I bet he's tired too." Haley ran a hand through her hair and caught Nathan's gaze. His head snapped away as he realised he had been caught watching her. Haley bit her lip and glanced nervously at her hands.

Brooke looked between the two and loudly announced her departure. "Well, I'm tired too. I'm heading for a nap." She didn't wait for the other two to begin protesting and rushed out of the kitchen.

Nathan and Haley were left to sit in awkward silence in the kitchen.

* * *

Brooke gently knocked on the bedroom door and poked her head into the room. Jake looked up from the bed where Jenny was peacefully sleeping. "Can I come in?" she whispered.

"Sure. She just fell asleep though." He pressed a finger to his lip and Brooke crept in slowly. She sat on the edge of the bed and gazed at the sleeping toddler. "Where are Nathan and Haley?"

"I left them in the kitchen."

"Alone?"

"Yeah. Hopefully they'll actually talk this time." Brooke rolled her eyes. Now that Jake was back, she wanted everything to go back to normal as quickly as possible. "I don't know how long I can watch them tip-toe around each other."

"They'll figure it out." Jake reassured.

"If not, we can lock them in a room somewhere."

"I know a place." Jake joked, but Brooke frowned at his mention of the jail cell he'd only just vacated. "Ow!"

"It's not funny!" she hissed. Jenny began to stir and the two teenagers froze in their actions until she fell back asleep. "See, you almost woke her up." Brooke said in a lower tone.

"It's fine. I'm her dad. Anyway, I'm pretty tired. I'm going to take a nap." He said as he positioned himself next to his daughter.

"Oh, okay. I'll leave you alone." Brooke began to get off the bed but Jake's hand caught her wrist.

"Stay." He told her. "I could use some more female company."

"Perv." She rolled her eyes but settled down on the bed so Jenny was between the two of them. "God, I hope my dad doesn't come in. He'll have a heart attack."

"A boy in your room! The horror!" He mock-gasped as quietly as possible. "At least it's not Lucas." Brooke's smile faded at the mention of Lucas' name. "Sorry." Jake added guiltily.

"It's okay. It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're back." Brooke offered him a quick smile to let him know she was okay.

"Well, when we get back to school, I've got your back." He told her earnestly before adding "nothing's gonna harm you… not while I'm around."

Brooke groaned as he launched into a quiet, whispered rendition of 'Not While I'm Around'.

"God, I should never have let you watch 'Sweeny Todd'." she exclaimed as she covered her ears. "You are such a girl sometimes."

"No-one's going to hurt you, no-one's going to daaaaaare…"

* * *

Peyton approached Brooke just before third period. She had been avoiding the brunette and her friends since Jake had been arrested, unable to live with the guilt that her own naivety had led to Jake's current predicament and Nikki's death. Lucas had been there for her, something she was thankful for since she and Lucas weren't the closest of siblings, and his initial anger at what she did gradually softened over the last few weeks. Peyton knew Lucas wasn't happy with her but he'd defend her since she was his sister.

"What do you want?" Brooke asked as she saw Peyton come up to her.

"Hey, I see Jake's out of prison." Brooke slammed her locker door loudly and Peyton jumped.

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

"I'm really sorry, Brooke. I honestly didn't know what Nikki-"

"-was planning to do blah blah blah." Brooke sighed. "I've heard this all before. I'm kind of sick of hearing you and your brother apologise."

"Well, I just wanted to say it again. And just for the record, if you would let Lucas talk to you, then I know he means it too. He feels really bad about everything."

"Good for the two of you." Brooke grumbled. "But maybe you should be apologising to Jake and what you put him through instead of following me around."

Peyton watched as the brunette turned away from her and walked briskly down the hallway. Jake appeared next to the blonde and Peyton immediately began to blush out of guilt.

"Hey." Jake said with a smile. "Don't mind Brooke. She just has a lot on her mind."

"I'm sorry, Jake." Peyton said. "If I'd known-"

"It's done, Peyton. Yeah, it sucked and everything could have been prevented but it happened. But I'm back and I have Jenny with me. Nikki isn't going to to turn up. I don't have time to hold grudges. It's over."

He gave the blonde a friendly smile to indicate that he wasn't going to hold it against her.

"Thanks Jake." Peyton returned his smile. Jake looked over at Brooke's retreating form and followed after her.

"Brooke, wait up!" He called after her. Brooke didn't stop but she slowed her pace down. "Don't be angry for what happened to me. It's over. I don't want you to stay angry."

"I am angry, Jake!" Brooke hissed. "You didn't have to go through all of that if it wasn't for Peyton Sawyer."

"Whatever Nikki did and what happened to her isn't just Peyton's fault. It's a big combination of things but there's no point in staying angry about it. She's gone!"

"We haven't talked about her, you know." Brooke replied quietly. "Are you-"

"I don't miss her, Brooke. I'm not sorry she's gone." Jake answered honestly. "She was never going to be Jenny's mom – not the way she could have been before."

"Still you loved her and we kind of all grew up together."

Jake sighed. "I was in love with the Nikki who made us sneak into the movie theater, and the one who used to play that awful Avril Lavigne song over and over again. But she left a long time ago. She's not been part of our lives for years."

Brooke glanced down at her feet and Jake realised that he was forgetting that Brooke and Nikki had pretty much spent the majority of their teen years joined at the hip, way before he and Nikki had started dating. He put an arm comfortingly over her shoulder.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I know you guys were close. But you can't blame me for feeling this way with what she did to us." Jake pressed a soft kiss to the top of Brooke's head and offered her a smile. "But if you want to talk about her and you need someone there… I'll be there for you."

"Come on, I know you don't want to talk about her. I don't want to either."

"But if you _need_ to, you can talk to me. Okay?"

"Okay." Brooke agreed and rolling her eyes. "God, you have to get all serious in the middle of the school day, don't you?"

Jake chuckled and ruffled Brooke's hair, much to her annoyance. "Yeah, well, you were the one turning Peyton into stone earlier."

Brooke groaned at the mention of Peyton's name and followed Jake through the corridors on their way to World History.

* * *

Haley looked at the cupcake sitting on the desk. Surprised, she looked up to see Nathan standing over her. "No food in the library." Haley whispered. Her tone wasn't unfriendly, which was a relief for him.

"You look like you need a break. Plus, it's strawberry flavored." Nathan explained. She motioned for him to sit down beside her and he grinned.

"Thanks." She told him swiping a finger across the frosting. She poked it into her mouth and tasted the strawberry icing. "It's good."

"I know. I had three on my way here." Nathan joked.

"I know you're joking but I wouldn't doubt it. Did you get it from your mom's café?"

"Yeah, she made a fresh batch this morning. I don't think she'd miss one."

"Your mom's happy you're home." Haley mentioned. Nathan's grin faded. "Don't worry, it's not going to turn into a fight." She reassured him. "I think it's nice."

"Haley, I'm really sor-"

"I'm sick of fighting, Nathan." She interrupted him. "I'm also sick of apologies so can we just… I don't know, forget it all and just start over?"

Nathan nodded. "I'd like that."

"Good, because I think Brooke is running out of excuses to leave us alone in rooms."

"I love my sister, but she's about as subtle as a freight train." Nathan chuckled as he went to take from frosting from Haley's cupcake.

"Mine!" She warned him as she swatted his hand away. She giggled when his fingers pretty much fell into the cake and he had pink frosting all over his hand.

A librarian shushed them loudly which caused the two to giggle even more.

"Okay, stop destroying my cupcake and help me study for our Biology test."

"We have a Biology test?"

"Do you never listen in class?" Nathan smiled in answer. "Sit down, I'll help you." Haley put her notes in between them as Nathan settled down in the seat next to her. "Remember this from last week?"

Nathan listened as Haley went through her neat, color-coded notes with him and watched as her hands animatedly emphasised the points she was trying to make.

Sure, they weren't together anymore. But she didn't hate him and she didn't avoid him anymore. They were actually talking – about school – but it was a real conversation that wasn't punctuated with awkward pauses or uncomfortable shuffling. This was re-earning her trust and her friendship.

Haley turned to look at him and fought the blushes that crept up her cheeks at the sight of his gaze before turning back to her notes.

With everything that had happened between the friends, with Nikki's return, Jake's arrest, and her and Nathan's engagement, she was glad that things were beginning to piece back together. After years of having a crush on Nathan, she had finally got him but the ensuing drama it caused and their rough breakup made her realise that perhaps they had moved too quickly. She loved Nathan, of course. She loved him like she loved Jake and Brooke and her parents. Haley knew that even if they would never date again, she would always love him and she'd rather love him as a friend than not have him at all.

The bell rang, indicating the end of lunch. Haley packed up her bag and put on her jacket. When she turned around, Nathan was standing up and holding out her mushed cupcake. She chuckled softly and took it from him, letting him lead her to class.

**To be continued…**


	20. There's Always Tomorrow

**Chapter 20: There's Always Tomorrow**

Three weeks had passed since Jake had been released from jail and the four friends were back to the way it had been before the engagement that fractured their friendship and Nikki's return.

Almost.

Jake had noticed Brooke's bright smile and cheery demeanour hadn't fully returned to her. He wasn't sure why. They had been doing all the same things they had been doing before; the beach, the mall, the weekend movie marathons, and hanging out by the Scott's pool. Everything was meant to be normal now.

So why was she still so sad?

Jake cornered Nathan one afternoon as the two studied for their chemistry mid-term. Brooke and Haley were shopping for dresses for the spring formal later that week, and the boys had decided to escape by telling the girls they would study and babysit Jenny instead.

Instead of studying Nathan was helping Jenny scribble on blank pages of his notebook. He had tried drawing a penguin for the girl but Jenny didn't seem impressed with his efforts.

"Is Brooke okay?" Jake asked as he watched his best friend and daughter play.

Nathan frowned slightly as if he wasn't sure what Jake was getting at. "She's fine."

"She just doesn't seem like herself."

"Ah, she's probably got a girl thing going on. She'll be back to her usual self soon."

"So you have noticed she's different." Jake countered. Nathan sighed.

"It's hard not to, Jake. She's moody at she's at home when you and Haley aren't around. I've tried talking to her but she just avoids the subject. I asked Haley if Brooke had said anything to her she said nothing."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Jake asked. He was a little offended that his best friend hadn't confided in him – especially as the three of them had been friends the longest.

"I was hoping she would just get over it or something but I don't know what to do. My mom's asked me about it but I don't want to worry her so I just told her it was because finals were coming up." Nathan patted Jenny's head when the toddler showed him her work.

Jake thought for a few moments. "You know, I think it might have something to do with Lucas." Nathan glared at his friend.

"Don't start that again."

"Come on! She liked him and he hurt her."

"No, it's because Nikki hurt her." Nathan replied. "She and Nikki were friends for a while. You know Brooke. She's always hoped Nikki would come back and be friends with all of us again – even if she said she hated her. And when Nikki did show up, she took Jenny away from us and almost took you away from her. Then Nikki died. Brooke hasn't gotten over everything."

"I don't think you can blame Nikki for everything."

Nathan raised his eyebrows. "Of all people, I would never have thought I'd hear those words come out from your mouth. Nikki did the worst of it to you."

"Yeah, but now that she's gone and can't come back, why would I want to hold onto a grudge like that? Nikki can't hurt us anymore. Besides, I think your engagement to Haley hit her first." Jake defended his ex-girlfriend. He knew Nikki had done bad things but Nathan's failed elopement had hurt Brooke more.

"At some point I'd like to stop being the scapegoat for everything." Nathan huffed. "I made a mistake, and in case you hadn't noticed, Haley and I got hurt too."

"Okay, okay, I surrender!" Jake waved a piece of paper in the air. "I'm just concerned. She was fine a few weeks ago but… I don't know, man, she just seems sad. Or mad. Or both."

"I don't get why. You're back, Haley and I are back. She's got everything back." Nathan shrugged and Jake decided to leave the matter alone for now.

"Okay," Jake began gathering his books together, "I'd better get Jenny home." He told his friend. "It's getting near her bedtime."

"I'll drive you." Nathan said as he watched Jake pack up his school books and Jenny's toys. Jenny gurgled as Nathan put on her coat for her. While Jake buckled Jenny into the car seat at the back, Nathan loaded up the car with Jake's bags for the short drive to Jake's house.

As they parked up outside Jake's house, Jake gave a small sigh. "I'm not trying to start anything, but Brooke got pretty close to Lucas while you were gone. Since I've been back, I've just seen her avoid him."

Nathan groaned at Jake's mention of the blonde.

"Not all roads lead to Lucas Scott, Jake."

"I'm just saying that Lucas was there for her while you and Haley were gone and while Nikki was around. Lucas even tried looking for Nikki."

"I'm sure he did." Nathan grumbled, remembering when he witnessed the Lucas and Nikki hook-up.

"Stop that. Lucas is a good guy. He didn't hurt any of us. I think maybe Brooke is keeping him at arm's length because she doesn't want to upset you."

"Brooke doesn't care about upsetting me." Nathan countered. "Look, I know the two of us have kind of been walking on eggshells a little. I get that she is sometimes a little worried when she sees Haley and I getting close again but we learned our lessons. She can see whoever she likes."

"That's not entirely true though, Nathan. You've always been protective of her and the whole reason you hated Lucas was because of that Nikki thing. He's a good guy and you know that. Why don't you tell Brooke that you don't care?"

"Because I do care!" Nathan gripped the steering wheel and his knuckles faded to white. "I don't like guys going after Brooke. If _you _decided you wanted to go after Brooke, I'd have the same reaction."

"I thought you said you didn't care what Brooke did." Jake smiled.

"Fine, I lied! I care about who Brooke sees but why shouldn't I? I'm her brother."

Jake nodded. "Maybe you're right. I don't have a sister, so you must be right." He opened the car door and climbed out, heading towards Jenny. Nathan got out from his side of the car and took out Jake's schoolbag and Jenny's baby bag. The boys walked the short distance from Nathan's car to Jake's front door.

Jake opened the front door and Nathan placed the bags by the stairs.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school." Nathan said as he made a face at Jenny and prepared to leave.

"Wait, Nate, hold on." Jake said. "I don't have a sister. Except I've been friends with you and Brooke for years and, if it's okay with you, I kind of think of her as my sister. I'm protective of her too. If I thought Lucas was a bad guy, I'd be on the Anti-Lucas bandwagon as fast as you. But from what I've seen, he's just a guy who made a mistake; he didn't know about what Nikki did to us or Brooke, and it was way before he and Brooke got close. He kept it from her because he didn't want to hurt her and, whether you agree with it or not, it happened. More things have happened since then. _Worse_ things have happened since. So coming from Brooke's deputy-protector, I like Lucas, and she likes him."

"Jake, why are you telling me this for?" Nathan sighed. "I told you before – I don't care what she does."

"Okay, fine. You keep saying that you don't care about what Brooke does and she doesn't care what you think about Lucas. The two of you can keep dancing around this whole situation – but you know she's not going to let Lucas in because she doesn't want to upset you; and that's what is going to keep her sad."

Jake motioned to the open door. "I'll see you tomorrow," he told Nathan. Nathan opened his mouth to argue his case but decided against it. Giving a curt nod, he waved goodbye to Jenny and left Jake's house.

His best friend's words had stung. He admitted that he wasn't a fan of Lucas and he didn't want him around Brooke. But Jake was right. His primary reason for hating Lucas was because of something that happened a year ago. He had done worse things to Brooke only a few weeks previously. He didn't want Brooke with Lucas – not with any guy if he was honest – but he trusted Brooke. It had been Nikki leading Brooke down a dark road years before and Brooke had gone along with it. He knew Brooke wasn't that foolish girl anymore. They had all learned hard lessons.

Maybe he was taking advantage of Brooke's renewed relationship with him, and he figured she wouldn't want do anything to upset him for fear of losing him again. That was what angered Nathan; the fact that she would let him stop her from doing something she wanted. She hated people telling her what to do and that was what he loved most about her. While Nathan tended to want to please their father (not because he wanted to, but because he knew Dan would make his life harder if he didn't), Brooke would gladly pretend to do so then ignore whatever she was told not to do. Nathan and Brooke's fractured relationship was on the mend but he knew she was conscious not to disturb the peace by doing something he didn't want her to do.

And that was wrong of him.

With a final sigh, Nathan got into his car and headed to the Rivercourt.

* * *

Lucas sat underneath the basketball hoop with his back against the pole and his legs crossed at the ankles. He leafed carefully through the Steinbeck book but he wasn't really absorbing any of the words. He heard the sound of a car pull up behind him and he turned to see Nathan's park by the edge of the court. He got up immediately when he saw Nathan climb out.

"Hey Lucas." Nathan called out as he shut his car door.

"Nathan," Lucas replied curtly, "what are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Nathan gestured to the book in his hands, "I figured you would be playing here. I guess I know why I kick your ass on the court. You spend all your time reading."

Lucas didn't laugh. "Look, I've not been hanging around Brooke."

"I know and that's my fault. I've been thinking lately, and by 'thinking' I really mean Jake kind of got up in my face, but I've been wrong. I've been punishing you for something that I shouldn't have and it's not been fair on you or Brooke."

"You're… apologising?" Lucas frowned in confusion.

"Don't get used to it, and if you tell anyone, I'll deny it. I'm mostly thinking about Brooke. I can't stand you but I love my sister and god knows why, but she likes you and she's much happier when you're around." Nathan sighed. "I've been an ass to you."

"I get it. I wouldn't want a guy I didn't like hanging around my sister either." Lucas admitted. "But you don't have to worry. I don't think Brooke even cares anymore. I mean, I've tried talking to her but she doesn't really give me the time of day."

"Look, the formal is coming up. Do you have a date?" Nathan winced as the words came out of his mouth. "Geez, that sounds like I'm asking you out." Lucas' eyebrows raised in amusement. He kind of wished other people were around to see Nathan awkwardly fumble through this. "Look, I guess what I'm saying is that I wouldn't totally hate it if you asked Brooke to go. If you wanted to… and if she wanted to."

"Noted," was Lucas' only reply.

"Good. But y'know, if she says 'no' or if you try anything, I have my eyes on you."

"I wouldn't expect anything less."

"And it doesn't mean I'll go easy on you at practice either. I'm just doing a good deed for my sister."

"Got it." Lucas chuckled to himself. Nathan nodded.

"Good, so we're clear. I'm heading back home. I'll see you around."

With those final words, Nathan turned back to his car leaving a very entertained Lucas on the Rivercourt.

* * *

"Nathan, get the door!" Brooke grumbled when the doorbell rang.

She had returned less than thirty minutes before from her trip to the mall with Haley. They had been hunting for prom dresses, but all it had done was drive home the fact Brooke had nobody to go with. She usually didn't mind. The four of them would go to prom as a group but with Nathan and Haley together and Jake deciding not to go, she would be the awkward third-wheel. She could hang out with the other cheerleaders but she wasn't in the mood and the majority of them already had dates anyway. She sighed. Maybe she would save the dress for something else and spend the evening watching TV.

The doorbell rang again.

"Nathan, are you kidding me?" she yelled in frustration as she stomped to the front door. "If it's a girl scout, I'm keeping all the cookies to myself." She warned as she pulled open the door.

Lucas smiled back at her from her doorstep. "Hi. I don't have any cookies." He said.

She blinked a few times and glanced behind her to look for Nathan.

"Go away." She hissed as she shut the door on him and retreated back into the house. Nathan appeared behind her.

"Who was that?" he asked as the doorbell rang again and he went towards the door.

"Nathan, no!" Brooke warned but Nathan had already opened the door. Brooke cringed, waiting for Nathan to blow up at Lucas for coming around.

"Oh hey, Lucas. You want to come in?" Brooke frowned. What did Nathan say? She watched in confusion as Nathan let Lucas in. Lucas didn't look particularly comfortable but came in and stood beside Nathan.

Nathan looked between Brooke and Lucas and shrugged. "I'll be in the kitchen."

Brooke watched Nathan walk down the hallway into the kitchen and then turned back to Lucas.

"Hi." He tried again.

"Hi, Lucas." She said nervously. "I don't know what's gotten into him but I don't think he's planning an attack."

Lucas smiled and she felt her stomach flutter. "That's okay. I think it's safe."

"Um… what are you doing here?" She asked.

"I haven't seen you around much," he told her, "I just wanted to stop by and tell you I miss you."

Brooke seemed to flinch a little at his words, as if she wasn't quite sure what to say or do.

"I- uh, I miss you too." She ran a hand through her hair. "I've just been busy, y'know? Jake just got back out and-"

"Yeah, I figured." He replied. "I was hoping that we could hang out soon."

"That would be nice." She nodded cautiously. She wasn't quite sure what prompted his visit since she had been ignoring him for weeks and he had stopped trying to talk to her.

"What about Friday?" he asked with a small smile.

"Friday is the formal." She informed him.

"I know," his smile grew wider, "I was hoping you'd come with me." Brooke glanced behind her in case Nathan was listening in. What would he think?

She spied him leaning against the wall outside the kitchen, clearly listening in to their conversation but pretending to be eating an apple. She was about to shoo Lucas away when she saw Nathan smile at her. She frowned, not quite sure what he was getting at, but his smile remained and he gave a little nod.

"So? What do you say?" Lucas prompted her attention again.

"I'd love to." She grinned as the butterfly feeling in her stomach began to get stronger.

Lucas sighed in relief. "Great! That's… that's awesome." His cellphone began ringing in his pocket. "Um, I've got to run home. My dad's going to call in like five minutes, but… I'll see you tomorrow at school? We'll work out the details?" He asked. She nodded.

"Haley and I are leaving at seven," Nathan said as he came up behind Brooke. "We'll all go together."

"Sure, that sounds good." Lucas said as Brooke nodded in agreement. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He said as he walked towards the front door. Brooke opened the door for him and he gave them both a brief wave as he left and jogged to the end of their drive. She and Nathan watched as he crossed the road and disappeared out of view before Brooke closed the front door.

"Looks like you've got a date." Nathan said as he calmly bit into his apple like nothing had happened. "You'd better tell the Kardashians that you can't hang out with them anymore." He joked.

Brooke stared at her brother and shook her head in disbelief. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Me? Nothing. I was over there eating an apple." He said innocently. "I certainly didn't realise how much of a jerk I was being."

"I never said you were a jerk, Nate." She teased. "I thought you were being an ass."

"Oh of course. At least I had a date to prom. I wasn't going to sit here all by myself and watch reality TV."

"Hey! I was going to hang out with Jake." She defended. "Now he'll be all alone."

"He'll be pleased. He told me how much he hated you hanging around _all the time_!" Nathan chuckled as Brooke pouted back at him.

"Jerk!" She play-punched him and stole his apple.

"Ass!" he reaffirmed and grabbed his apple back. As he bit into it, he felt Brooke's arms wrap around him and give him a hug.

"I love you." She said quietly. He placed a quick kiss on the top of her head.

"Love you too." He said with a bite of an apple in his mouth. "I guess we'd better find Jake a girlfriend now."

**The End.**

* * *

A/N: I know, I totally suck. I kept meaning to finish this but things got in the way. I can't believe I started this five years ago so thanks to everyone who stuck by it since the beginning and recently. Finishing it was the least I could do. I should also be updating/finishing _We Start Again From Zero_ soon xxx.


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